Vervain Is Thicker Than Blood
by vikkiikkiv
Summary: In sore need of a new beginning, Helene Smith moves into town, hoping for a calmer life than before. Little does she know of the things lurking in the shadows of Mystic Falls. On top of it all, she has her own secrets and demons, and everyone knows you can't outrun your past. Damon/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or anything else that you recognize.**

**Chapter 1**

**Prologue**

* * *

Helene Smith let out a deep sigh. She'd been driving for six hours straight, on her way to her new home in some small town in Virginia called Mystic Falls. She prayed silently that the name was just that, a name, and said nothing about the town. She'd had enough supernatural crap for several lifetimes. Just thinking about it she subconsciously reached up to the right side of her neck and rubbed the two white scars on her otherwise suntanned skin. They were the reason she left California, the reason she needed a new life and a new beginning. But most of all, she needed a new house where she controlled the flow of people.

She caught her neck rubbing when she looked in the mirror, tired sky-blue eyes staring back at her. Quickly, she placed her hand back on the steering wheel. A small smile tugged at her lips when she passed the 'Welcome to Mystic Falls' sign, running a hand through her shoulder length blonde hair.

* * *

It wasn't long before she arrived at her new home; a two-story quaint wooden house, a porch deck in front of the front door. It had cost her enough money to burn her pockets, but her parents had been quite wealthy and left her plenty when they died.

The real-estate agent that sold her the house had been reluctant at first, wondering how an eighteen year old girl would handle living alone. But after Helene had told her it was none of her freaking business, she'd agreed to sell it.

Back in California she'd shared an apartment with her older sister that was twenty-five years old, but that hadn't ended well... The urge to rub her scars returned but she fought it back, biting her lip instead.

The inside of the house was already fully furnished; a master bedroom with an attached bathroom, a guest room, another bath, an open kitchen-dining room, and a living room. It was big for one person, she had to admit, but what did it really matter? All that mattered was that she was alive and safe. For now at least.

It was getting late and her drive from Ohio, where she'd flown to from Cali to stop by a friend, had been exhausting. Tomorrow she would start attending Mystic Falls High School. Even though she found school to be boring and all around lame, she felt the need to at least have a somewhat normal teenage life.

All her belongings and things she'd ordered were already in place. All that was left was the antique wooden chest in the back of her car. She went outside again after placing her purse and keys on the kitchen island. Popping the trunk she smiled seeing the old heirloom. According to Kate, her mother, it had been passed down the generations of her family for longer than anyone could remember, the content inside with it. Now it was only the question of how to get it inside. Helene was strong for a girl her age, but not nearly strong enough to carry that huge piece of wood on her own.

Luckily, a guy around her age with black spiky hair and muscled arms came jogging down the sidewalk.

"Excuse me?" Helene called out, making him stop.

She didn't miss the lustful look that came across his eyes as he took in her appearance. Apparently all the girls on her mother's side of the family had been beautiful. A heart shaped face, a dazzling smile that practically melted men's hearts, and a body any woman wished for. Her sister, Nina, had been the same. Until she snapped and Helene had to defend herself. It had scarred her face badly, and Nina swore Helene had ruined her life. It was not her initial intention -she'd had way more important things on her mind at the moment- but she didn't regret it.

"Would you mind helping me with this?" she asked, gesturing for the chest.

"Of course not," the boy replied, moving over to her and holding out his hand. "I'm Tyler Lockwood, by the way. You new in town?"

"Helene Smith," she smiled and shook his hand before they lifted the chest out of the trunk. "And is it that obvious?" They started walking toward the house.

"It's a small town," Tyler shrugged. "not much happens here."

"Thank god for that," she sighed as they reached the porch. When she noticed the weird look he gave her, she quickly added, "I'm looking for a little boring at the moment."

"Well, then you've come to the right place. It doesn't get much more boring than Mystic Falls." They entered the house, Helene being careful not to invite him in. "Where do want this thing?"

"Just up there," she nodded up the stairs and they started climbing, readjusting their grip so it wouldn't crash to the floor.

"Are you going to start school tomorrow?" Tyler questioned, wanting to know more about this new girl. "It's the first day back after the summer."

"That's the plan." They entered her room and placed the wooden chest down by the foot of her bed. "Thank you so much. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't helped."

"You could've just asked your neighbors," he suggested, "The Gilberts." He looked around the room and frowned. "Where are your parents?"

"Um... they're dead. It's just me." Her mom had died when she was fifteen of cancer, her father before that. She'd come to terms with it and had no problem talking about it, but it always put a damper on the mood, just as it did now.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tyler said, feeling a bit awkward as they made their way downstairs again.

"Don't be," Helene assured him with a warm smile. They stopped by the front door. "I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too. And thanks again for the help." With that he nodded and jogged off. She closed the door after him, locking it securely before making her way back to her room again. She sat down on her knees in front of the big chest and opened the creaking metal hinges.

Inside was full of old grimoires, glass bottles filled with all sorts of weird and mystic ingredients, vervain and wolfsbane being among them, and a heavy leather bound book with intricate patterns. The front of it read 'Sanguis' and had a crater in the middle of the cover. Helene brushed her fingers over the dent, hoping for some sort of reaction. No matter how hard she tried, how hard her mother had tried in her time, it would never open. The covers of the book remained forcefully shut, not granting access to the words within.

It was one of the many mysterious things about Helene's family. They were all witches, each generation more powerful than the last. Helene was the last, her sister giving up her bloodline when she turned her back on them, on life.

Sighing, Helene put the Sanguis book back into the chest and closed it. She'd spent more time contemplating the book than she'd thought and needed to go to bed if she were to get up early in the morning.

After a quick shower and changing into her pajamas, she crawled into the new bed in her new house, hoping for a new start.

Outside her window, a dark figure hid in the shadows of the night, keeping a close eye on the blonde. After seeing the lights in the room turn off, the figure sped away in a blur, leaving anyone in Mystic Falls oblivious to her presence.


	2. New Beginnings, Same Problems

**Disclaimer: Isn't it obvious I don't own the Vampire Diaries? This is the last time I say it, so you better remember it.**

**A/N: If anyone is wondering how I choose to pronounce Helene, because I'm Norwegian I say it like Helen, only with an 'eh' on the end. Does that make sense? Hope so :P**

**Chapter 2**

**New Beginnings, Same Problems**

* * *

Helene woke up to her blaring alarm clock, confused at the unfamiliar environment of her room at first. She smiled when she fastened her gaze on the old wooden chest. At least some things were familiar, some things were constant. She stopped the clock and padded out of her room and into the bathroom.

After cleaning up and doing her make-up she entered her room again and rummaged through a cardboard box standing by the empty closet. With big black marker it read '_Clothes_' on the front. Since it was still summer and hot out, she decided to wear one of her dresses. The one she picked was cobalt blue and was light and airy, reaching to above her knees. She put a brown belt around her waist to give it shape. Then she moved over to another box marked '_Shoes_' and found a pair of black ankle boots.

Her hair she'd blow-dried and figured she would leave it loose. Next, she clasped on a black rose necklace and headed downstairs to make breakfast, turning the TV in the living room on while she made her way to the fridge. All there was inside were two pieces of pizza she'd picked up along her drive yesterday. She really needed to go grocery shopping after school.

"The bodies of twenty-four year old Daniel Malloy," the newscaster caught her attention. She looked at the screen and at the pictures of a man and a woman. "and his twenty-two year old girlfriend, Brooke Fenton, were found dead on the side of the road last night. The cause of death; a vicious animal attack."

"Too depressing for morning," Helene mumbled to herself, sipping from a cup of tea - she didn't like coffee- and switched the channel over to some morning talk show.

* * *

The school looked like any other high school she'd seen; big and full of windows. During her short life she had already been new at a school at least seventeen times. Her sister made it hard to stay in one place after her mother died, and even when she was alive they had moved around. Helene couldn't out why, but so far Mystic Falls seemed like a nice town to put down roots in. She wondered how that would be, being able to call someplace home.

With a bracing sigh she stepped out of her car, earning curious looks from the people massed outside the building, catching up with friends after summer. Keeping her head down, she walked straight to the doors and walked through. How many people were going stare at her, she thought, noticing more looks when she went inside.

"Office, office..." she mumbled as she walked through the crowded halls. "Aha!" she uttered triumphantly when she saw the sign next to an open door.

Two girls were standing outside talking. One was a pretty brunette, while the other was a dark-skinned girl, just as pretty. They were giggling about something. Helene heard them as she walked closer, trying to make it look like she wasn't eavesdropping.

"It's a hot back," the dark-skinned girl stated, staring at someone inside the office Helene couldn't see yet. "I'm sensing Seattle. And he plays the guitar."

"You're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?" the other girl asked with a chuckle.

"Pretty much," she shrugged. Then the other girl left, saying something about being right back. Helene was just a few feet away from the office now. The girl started chanting quietly to herself, "Please be hot. Please be hot."

Helene had to suppress a laugh as she walked past the girl and into the office. A guy stood with his back turned, talking to the secretary behind the desk.

"Excuse me?" she said, standing next to the guy. "I'm here to pick up my class schedule."

The secretary seemed to snap out of a haze before looking at the blonde. "Miss Smith?" she asked and Helene nodded. "Of course, one second." She got out of her seat and moved away to find her requested item.

Helene looked over at the guy. The girl outside would be happy; he almost looked like a model. Brown hair, forest green eyes that somehow seemed really old, and by the stretch of his leather jacket he seemed to have nice arms. "You new, too?" she asked, hoping he was so she wouldn't be alone.

"Yes, I am," he smiled at her. "I'm Stefan Salvatore."

She shook his hand. "Helene Smith. And just so you know, the girls are already talking about you like you're fresh meat. Are you from Seattle by any chance?"

"No, sorry," he chuckled. Stefan caught himself staring into her sky-blue eyes, enjoying the sweet scent of her - spiced vanilla - , almost forgetting why he'd come back to Mystic Falls. The girl who looked like Katherine had been on his mind ever since he saw her the first time, when he saved her from drowning with her parents. But Helene seemed to relax him, almost making him feel like just being himself. But that was crazy, no one could know who he really was. The town of Mystic Falls had a long history of vampire hating. "Why? Does it look like I am?"

"No, no reason. Do you play the guitar?" The secretary returned to her desk with Helene's schedule. The teenager gave her a quick smile before focusing on Stefan again.

"No," Stefan answered her question, knowing full well she asked because the dark-skinned girl had said he did. He'd picked it up with his heightened hearing.

"At least she was right about one thing," Helene smirked before looking down at the paper in front of her, her eyes sparkling with light.

"And what's that?" he asked curiously.

"You _are_ hot." She didn't even looked up. To her it was no big deal, just an observation. Since her eyes were fixed on the class set up, she didn't see Stefan's, at first, surprised expression, before it turned into a smile.

To direct the attention away from himself and trying to ignore the look the secretary was giving them, he pointed to Helene's classes. "Looks like we have a lot of the same classes. History, French, English..."

"Good," Helene laughed. "'Cause I hate always being the new kid. Now you're in it with me."

"I guess I am," Stefan laughed too. He just could not shake the feeling of wanting to tell her every little detail of his hundred and sixty one -soon to be sixty-two- year long life.

"Come on, Stef," Helene turned away from the secretary and started out the door, shouldering her bag. "Let's get our butts into History class."

"Don't call me that," he said but chuckled slightly as he followed her, passing the dark-skinned girl who'd been standing by the door the whole time. He soon caught up to Helene and matched her pace. Both of them were very aware of every eye on them as they made their way to first period; the girls looking after Stefan, the boys checking out Helene. Both ignored them all.

"What? Stef?" she asked before nudging his shoulder slightly with hers. She frowned at her behavior, she was never that quick with teasing with new people. She liked to get to know them first, figure out where she had them and what they were like, but this guy was different. She pushed those thoughts away, she'd think about it later, when he wasn't waiting for her to continue. "Everyone gets a nickname. And yours is gonna be Stef. So suck it up and get over it."

"Fine... Heely." The blonde burst out laughing, earning more looks, but a wide sheepish smile from her new friend. "What, it's not that bad," he insisted. The fact that she laughed even harder told him it really was. "It's not my fault you have a weird name."

"I guess not," she said, wiping away tears when she settled down. "Then it's official. You're Stef and I'm _Heely_. I'm just gonna ignore that that's the name of the shoes with wheels under them." They shared another laugh before continuing down the hallways, chitchatting and getting to know each other better. By the time they reached the classroom they were looking for, class had already started.

"And you are?" the teacher, Mr. Tanner according to her schedule, asked, looking at them strictly. Helene already knew she would grow to hate him.

"Sorry for being late," she lied. In truth she wasn't, she would've been content with staying as far away from school as possible, but she knew she had to come here. "We're new. I'm Helene Smith."

"Right," Mr. Tanner nodded curtly. "I heard you two were coming."

Helene shot Stefan an look before finding a seat. Stefan sat down next to her, but his eyes were fixed on the brunette that had run off earlier. The dark-skinned girl was sitting in the classroom too.

"Once our home state of Virginia joined confederacy in 1861..." Mr. Tanner continued the lecture. Stefan kept making googly eyes with the brunette throughout the entire class, while Helene's mind shifted back to old memories of the times she was new at other schools. She'd only been in town for two days and already she had made a friend. Something told her she would enjoy living in Mystic Falls.

* * *

After school, that had stretched out to feel like an eternity, Helene went grocery shopping and picking up the essential stuff she needed before returning home. When it reached six o'clock she decided to go to the local bar and grill called Mystic Grill. Obviously someone had a lousy imagination.

It was already packed with people in there, sitting in booths, playing pool and darts, and drinking at the bar. Helene walked up to the counter, ordered a soda and a burger, before sitting down on a stool. It didn't take long before a guy a little older than her approached her.

"Can I buy you a drink, beautiful?" he asked, leaning on the counter next to her.

"I buy my own drinks, thanks," she replied with fake sweetness. Her order was placed before her and she made to leave with it, but stopped when Stefan called for her.

"Helene!" She looked to him. He was sitting with the brunette and dark-skinned girl from earlier, and a blonde she recognized from class. Stefan waved her over and scooted over in his seat to make room by the table. All the other girls gave the brunette looks of concern.

"Helene, right?" the brunette asked her, shrugging off her friends. "I'm Elena Gilbert and this is Bonnie Bennett and Caroline Forbes."

"Hi," she smiled at them before starting in on her food. Caroline continued with her talking.

"So, you were born in mystic falls?" she asked Stefan, the look in her eyes showing how hot she clearly thought he was.

"Mm-Hmm," he nodded. "And moved when I was still young."

"Parents?" Bonnie asked.

"My parents passed away."

"What about you, Helene?" Bonnie looked at her and she swallowed her food. Looks like she and Stefan had something else in common than just being new.

"Both dead," she answered simply, not wanting to get into it.

"I'm sorry," Elena said in a way that made it clear she knew exactly what that was like. "Any siblings?"

"None that I talk to," Stefan said. "I live with my uncle." Then everyone looked at Helene.

"A sister. We're, uh... sort of on the rocks. I live by myself. In fact, I think we're neighbors, Elena."

"You're the one who moved into the old Jensen house?" she asked, smiling, already liking the new girl. "That's great."

"So, Stefan," Caroline interrupted his and Elena's googly eyeing. "if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow."

"It's a back to school thing at the falls," Bonnie explained to both Helene and Stefan.

He turned to Elena. "Are you going?"

Bonnie answered before Elena could say no. "Of course she is."

"Helene?" Stefan asked, making the girls frown and look at Elena again. She shook her head to tell them it was no big deal, but she looked disappointed.

"Um... I guess I could go." She looked at the time. "I should get home. See you guys tomorrow." She went to leave, but Stefan stopped her.

"Hold on. I'll walk you out." He turned to the girls at the table, glancing at all of them but staying slightly longer on Elena. "It was nice meeting you. See you in class."

* * *

"Sooo," Helene drawled as they walked to the parking lot outside the Grill. "You and Elena, huh? When are you two gonna hook up?"

"I'm sorry?" Stefan frowned, taken aback.

"Oh, come on, Stef. You so want each other. I don't blame you, she's hot, so are you; perfect match."

"She reminds me of someone." He stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. Why did he say that? How could he let that slip. But Helene didn't notice his panicking.

"You probably shouldn't tell her that." She laughed, approaching her car. "See ya."

"Bye," he said lamely, still a bit worried. He looked after her car, thinking he would have to restrain himself next time.

* * *

The next night, Helene, Bonnie and Elena were at the party in the woods with the rest of the high school. They were standing on the edge of a wall-less hut, a big bonfire blazing next to them, keeping them warm in the chill night air. High schoolers were drinking and talking all around, making out in drunk dazes and laughing at jokes that wouldn't have been funny if they were sober.

Bonnie was asking where Stefan was and saying something about him having a romance novel stare, whatever that meant. Helene wasn't paying much attention. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, like something was going to go wrong.

"... you're the psychic one." The blonde caught a snippet of their conversation.

"Psychic?" she asked, sipping her beer and looking intrigued.

"Yeah..." Bonnie looked a little embarrassed. "My Grams is telling me I'm a witch."

"Do you believe her?" Helene would like having another witch friend, someone to talk to about all the stuff she could do, the things she knew. There was such a big world of supernatural things out there, but so many were oblivious to it, blind even.

"I don't know..." Bonnie sounded uncertain. The blonde's face fell slightly before she caught herself and smiled. Maybe it was for the best; the girl would probably freak if she knew what was really out there. "But what's the harm in trying, right?" She shrugged. "Let's see if I can find out where Stefan is. Give me a sec," she told them , closing her eyes. "Grams says I have to concentrate."

"Wait," Elena interrupted. "You need a crystal ball." She looked around and found an empty beer bottle on the ground. She handed it to Bonnie.

When their hands touched, the possible witch's breath hitched in her throat and she stared at Elena for a long time, a horrified look on her face. She pulled her hand back like she'd burned it.

"What?" Helene asked.

Bonnie was still staring at Elena. "That was weird. When I touched you, I saw a crow."

"What?" Elena uttered, sounding nervous.

"A crow. There was fog, a man."

"Right..." Helene drawled. "Let me take your crystal ball, it's obviously broken." She reached for it and their skin touched. Bonnie got that terrified look again, her breath catching. Quickly, she took a step away, more scared and confused than before. "Bonnie? You all right?"

"I, uhh, I... There was a white, almost translucent stone," she explained, eyes trained on Helene's. "There was blood dripping down on it. Your blood."

"How do you know it was mine?" she frowned.

"I- I just knew..." She shook her head and plastered on a smile. "I'm drunk. It's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Ok, I'm gonna get a refill." She stormed off, leaving Elena and Helene staring after her in confusion.

"That wasn't weird at all..." Helene trailed off sarcastically. When the two girls turned around Stefan was right behind them. They both jumped slightly.

"Hi," he greeted, smiling between them.

"Hi," Elena grinned back, looking like a lovesick puppy.

"I'm just gonna go... find Bonnie," Helene decided, thinking they needed some time by themselves. She smirked at Stefan and winked before disappearing into the crowds. "Bonnie, wait up!"

* * *

A little while later, Elena came running back to the bon fire from beyond the trees with her brother Jeremy, holding Vicki Donovan in his arms. Her neck was bloody and she seemed completely out of sorts, but conscious.

"Somebody help!" Elena screamed while Jeremy lay her down on a bench.

"Vicki? Vicki, what the hell?" Matt Donovan came running up to his sister. "Somebody call an ambulance!"

Tyler pushed back the gathering crowd, yelling for them to give her some space. Seeing Vicki's neck wound, Helene immediately knew she'd been attacked by a vampire, and that the feeling in her stomach earlier had been right. Could she be here, in Mystic Falls? she wondered. Already?

The blonde backed away from the crowd and Vicki. If the person she thought of had done this, she needed to get away, to get to her house. Helene jumped when she bumped into someone when she was near the edge of the woods. Spinning around she found Stefan, making sure to keep his face away from her.

The smell of blood had ruined his control, and he'd already almost lost it with Elena when they were alone. With Helene standing so close to him, her scent more intoxicating than he'd ever smelled before, even more than Elena's, he was struggling to keep from snapping.

"Stefan?" Helene asked in surprise seeing him. When he didn't turn to look at her she placed her hands on the sides of his face and forced it her way. The whites of his eyes had turned a dark blood red, black veins protruded under his eyes and his canines were longer and sharper than usual. She stared at him in shock for a split second before he tore his face away and was about to run, or knowing vampires, blur off at an inhuman speed. But before he could move she grabbed his wrist. "Did you do this?" she demanded in an angry tone, keeping her voice down so not to alert the teenagers a few feet away.

Stefan frowned and regained control by taking deep breaths and forcing his mind away from Helene's surprisingly steady heartbeat and spiced smell. He looked at her, his face back to normal. "What? I don't know-"

"Cut the bullshit, Stefan!" Helene cut him off. She concentrated, and his hand started to turn grey and his skin cracked. He groaned in pain and looked at her in confusion.

"You're a witch," he stated, surprised at the realization.

"And you're a vampire," she replied simply. "And that," she gestured for his hand, the grey starting to slowly travel up his arm. "Is your arm desiccating. So unless you want it to happen to the rest of your body I suggest you answer my question. Did you feed on Vicki? Were you the one who attacked her?"

"No," he shook his head, still confused. How could she be so calm around him, especially with the scene going on behind her? "I don't feed on humans anymore. I survive on animals."

Helene groaned and let go of his hand. It turned back to normal in less than a minute. She'd kind of hoped it was him, the alternative in her mind was so much worse. So much more personal. "God dammit," she muttered, running a hand through her hair. "I have to go," she said, taking a quick glance back at the crowd. "We'll talk about this later."

Then she walked off into the dark woods, leaving Stefan confused and surprised. He looked over at Vicki and Elena who was panicking before stalking off and back to the Boarding House.

* * *

Around one in the morning someone rang on Helene's front door. Dressed in comfortable shorts and a camisole, about ready for bed, she walked up to the door and opened it.

Outside stood a girl with thick, dark blonde hair and green eyes. Her jaw line and nose was similar to Helene's.

"I'm back, baby!" she announced with a wide grin. She went to walk inside, but was stopped by an invisible barrier by the doorstep. "Come on, sis," she said. "Let me in."

Nina Smith might have the same jaw and nose as her sister, but that was where their similarities ended. Where Nina was dark, Helene was light. Where Helene had their mother's coloring, Nina had their father's. Helene was sweet and warm, outgoing and compassionate. Nina was cold and ruthless, bitchy and self-centered. Helene was human, Nina was a vampire. A scar was sickeningly prominent on Nina's face, starting on her cheek and reaching over her left eye and up to her forehead. It was shaped as a hand - Helene's hand.

"Yeah..." the youngest girl drawled, her hand on the doorknob. "No." she said simply before slamming the door in her sister's face. She started toward the stairs but stopped when the doorbell kept ringing over and over and over again.

"I have all night!" she heard Nina yell from the other side of the door.

"Yes," Helene nodded, though she couldn't see her. "But then you'll burn to a crisp."

Nina kept ringing the doorbell, sending the shrilling sound echoing around the house. "I'll drive you insane!" she threatened. She smiled when Helene opened the door again, a blank expression on her face. "How you been?" Nina asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"You tried to kill me," the blonde gestured for her neck, the white bite marks itching for a rub. "How do you think I'm doing?"

"I said I was sorry. I said it, like, a hundred times. Come on, sis, don't be like this."

"You're not as sorry as my neck is," Helene sniped. "And you can say sorry all you like, I won't let it go."

"But I'm your sister. Your only living relative... Well, not exactly alive, but you know what I mean." Helene raised an eyebrow at her, telling her silently she didn't think much of her groveling. "Please," Nina begged, giving her sister her best puppy eyes. "I was drunk and upset and-"

"And you bit me!" Helene shouted, her anger getting the better of her. The night Nina had come home and sunk her teeth into her neck, Helene had gotten away by putting her hand on her sister's face and using her powers. Now the un-healing scar was a constant reminder of that night. With her upset state of mind she sent Nina sprawling to the porch deck, pinning her down with an invisible force. "Did you attack that girl tonight?"

"I haven't even had a meal since last night," she replied, struggling against the pressure. Even her vampire strength was no match for Helene's magic; she had always been stronger, the faster learner, the prettiest of the two, the one their mother loved more.

"And why should I believe you?"

"Because..." Nina struggled to find a way to talk her sister down. She knew how angry Helene could get, how stubborn. She couldn't play on their family relation, that would only make her angrier. She couldn't use their parents, that wouldn't work. But she knew one thing that might... "Because I have information you want!"

"Like what?" Helene narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, increasing the pressure so the floorboards creak from strain.

"The Sanguis. Our bloodline, they came from this town, Mystic Falls!" Over the generations the Sanguis name had turned into Smith, to blend in and make sure people who knew about their power didn't come looking for them. Helene had always wanted to learn more about her heritage, and Nina knew it perfectly well. "I've learned so much about them, H. You won't even believe it."

"I don't care," Helene lied. "You're just spewing lies like you always do to get your way. I'm not letting you in my house."

"Fine," Nina tried to cross her arms defiantly, but the force was keeping her arms to the floorboards. "But I'm not leaving."

"The only reason you're still alive," Helene said in a low, dangerous tone. She moved to stand above her sister. "Is because Mom would never want me to kill you. But don't think I won't, next time you try to kill me or hurt anyone else in this town."

"You wouldn't!" Nina spat. Helene sent her a threatening look that bordered on murderous, before stepping away from her and back inside the house. It wasn't until the door closed that the invisible force let Nina go, letting her stand up.

She glared at the door, hearing her sister's feet climbing up the stairs. Her heart was pumping evenly and Nina's mind wandered back to the invigorating and addictive taste of Helene's blood in her mouth. She'd never tasted anything like it, and that night when she'd gone home drunk and upset because her maker had left her, Nina wasn't able to resist her. Once her fangs were deep into Helene's flesh, she just hadn't been able to stop. She'd never wanted the blood to run out. If it hadn't, she was sure she could have and _would_ have kept drinking until the end of eternity.

Pushing those thoughts back, Nina walked down the steps, away from the house and fished out her cell phone. She dialed a familiar number while standing in the darkness where she'd stood last night, watching her younger sister going to bed.

"Hello?" a woman answered on the other end of the phone.

"She's here. In Mystic Falls," Nina said. "Helene's here, Katherine. What's our next move?"

"Now we wait," Katherine Pierce told her, sounding as conniving as ever. "Keep an eye on her until I get there."

The two vampires said their goodbyes. Nina smiled evilly up at her sister's room. She had no idea how her life was going to change. She'd moved to the small town to get away from her, but now Nina was here, and she and Katherine had plans that went beyond the blonde's wildest dreams.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review. If there's any confusion; Stefan and Helene are just friends. I know it might seem like there's something more, but I wanted to start them out with a friendship that was more than just instant and shallow.**

**Next chapter is Friday Night Bites, and Damon will show up. Yay :D**


	3. Telling Stories

**A/N: Forgot The Night of The Comet was before Friday Night Bites like I wrote would be this chapter. Sorry about that :P But at least Helene meets Damon, like I promised. **

**Chapter 3**

**Telling Stories**

* * *

The first thing that popped into Helene's mind when she woke up, the sun streaming through her curtains, was her sister. Now that she was here, the entire town was in danger. She needed to tell Stefan. One vampire was bad enough, even if he was acting all docile and domesticated at the moment.

Deciding to skip school, she jumped out of her bed, finished her morning routine and ate a quick breakfast before grabbing her bag, keys and cell phone, and heading out to her car.

* * *

The Boarding House was massive, and the blonde witch stared at it in awe while she walked up the gravel path to the door. A bell hang next to it and she yanked the rope, making it ring softly. If anyone else lived in the house, she would've been convinced they'd never hear it, but Stefan was a vampire, he heard everything.

She was surprised when it wasn't her friend who answered the door. It was a man in his mid-thirties, with short dirty blonde, curly hair. "Can I help you?" he asked, not unkindly.

"Umm..." Helene frowned. "This is the Salvatore Boarding House, right? Stefan lives here?"

"Heely!" she heard the vampire's voice call out before he appeared behind the man. "Helene this is Zack. Zack this is Helene Smith, my friend from school."

"Right," Zack nodded. "Hello. Speaking of school, shouldn't you be on your way there?"

"You're right," the blonde conceded. "But we're ditching today."

"We are?" Stefan frowned.

"Yes. We need to talk." She sent him a meaningful look.

"Of course. Come in." He opened the door wider and stepped aside to grant her access. Stefan nodded at Zack, who left them with a curious look over his shoulder.

The Boarding House was even more grand on the inside, if that was even possible. The whole place was built out of a deep dark wood, old and expensive furniture filling the many rooms. Most of it had a thin cover of dust over it, indicating a lack of use. Stefan closed the door behind Helene and led her into a huge living room.

"Wow, Stef," she marveled at the room. "You vampire's sure know how to live it up, don't you?"

"It's just stuff that's been accumulated over the years." He watched her trace her fingers over the spines of some old books standing on a shelf. He smiled at her fascination. "You said we needed to talk," he reminded her, making her look at him. "And I need to tell you something."

He indicated for her to sit down on a couch, and he sat down next to her, looking broody. "My brother's in town," he said at the same time as she said, "My sister's in town."

"What?" they frowned in unison. They stared at each other in confusion before bursting out laughing.

"I'm sorry," Helene said when their laughter died down. "You first."

"My brother, Damon, is back in Mystic Falls. And that means no one's safe."

"Shit..." Helene sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Remember how I said me and my sister were on the rocks?" She looked up at him and he nodded. "Well, that's because she tried to kill me." She shrugged her jacket off and showed him the scars on her neck, brushing her hair away to give him a better view. The exposed neck and her scent made Stefan have to fight hard not to lose control. When she noticed him staring and licking his lips, she covered herself up again. "Sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"It's all right," he shook his head, regaining his composure. "You were saying?"

"Umm... she followed me here from California. I talked to her last night, but she said she didn't attack Vicki. And since you said your brother's here, I'm guessing it was him?"

"Yeah. He's back to keep his promise of making my life a living hell."

"Huh?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"It's a long story." Stefan got up and started pacing.

Helene tucked her feet under herself and got more comfortable. "Tell me. We have all day."

"What do you want to know?" he asked, dragging a hand down his face.

"Everything." He looked at her in surprise. She shot him a soft, urging smile.

"I don't even know where to begin..."

"The start's always good," she offered. "When were you born?"

That one question and the request to know everything led to several hours of Stefan telling her his life's story. He was surprised at himself, and at Helene. He never opened up to anyone, always keeping things to himself and dealing with it inside, but something told him she was there for him. And she sat there on the couch, listening intently as he rambled on, shooting in a few jokes and comments every now and again.

He told her about his family; his mother, father and brother. He painted a picture of his early life in Mystic Falls and how Katherine Pierce had ruined everything he and Damon ever had. He even told her about his transition into vampire, and that he'd come back to town for Elena, who looked exactly like Katherine.

When he was done, Helene was lying on her back on the couch; head hanging off the seats, her feet over the backrest. Stefan sat down next to her, eyeing her carefully for any sign of blankness or confusion, anything that told him how she felt about it all. It was a lot to take in, a lot to talk about. He couldn't even imagine what was going through her mind at the moment.

"Any questions?" he asked.

She stayed silent for a little while longer, processing all the new information. His story was so incredible it almost made her head spin. Before all the blood in her body travelled to her brain, she sat up straight, got off the couch, and crossed her arms over her chest while looking at the vampire. He looked so... exposed and vulnerable. Before she even realized it herself, her arms were around his neck, her hands stroking his back while she hugged him tightly.

Stefan was surprised again -she seemed to keep doing that-, but he hugged her back. "I'm so sorry," she whispered into his ear before pulling away. Having seen a selection of alcohol standing on a table nearby, she went over to it and poured them both a glass of whiskey. She handed one to him and sipped at her own. "Right, questions..." she brought herself back on topic. "I have tons, but first things first. How in the name of Santa can you and your brother walk around in the sunlight?"

"Santa, really?" he chuckled and she shrugged. "It's our rings." He held up his hand so she could see. Sending him a questioning look he nodded to, she slid it off his finger. Her delicate hands were so small compared to his she had to place it on her thumb for it to even slightly fit. "A witch put a spell on it so we can walk around freely. It helps keep suspicion from us, too. Keeps the Council oblivious."

"Council?" Helene twirled the ring around her thumb.

"It's a small group of founding family members here in town, set on killing every vampire they find."

"Yikes," she pulled a face and looked over at the window. It was around 1 PM, the sun still high in the sky. A mischievous smile spread across her lips as she looked from the window to Stefan.

"No," he shook his head when he understood what she was thinking. "No, no, no."

"Oh, come on, Stef!" she begged. "Don't be a sissy, you'll heal!"

She was giving him her puppy dog eyes, and he tried his best at standing his ground, but finally relented. "Fine." He walked over to the large window with her and held his bare hand in the small beam of sunlight. He hissed in pain as it started smoking and sizzling. He pulled it back.

"So this ring is the only thing keeping you from getting turned into ash by the sun? Cool." Helene handed it back to him and he put it on. "Any other nifty jewelry I should know about?" She walked over to a hand carved wooden chair and sat down, stroking her hands over the armrests. "Earrings that make you invisible? Or a nose stud that turns you into a bat?" she asked jokingly.

"Sorry to disappoint," he chuckled with a smile.

"That's all right," she shrugged and stood up. "I'd probably be super jealous anyway."

They shared a laugh. Stefan caught himself in how comfortable he was around her and how well they seemed to click. It had been a long time since he'd laughed so much with anyone. In a way, she reminded him of Lexi, his best friend that he hadn't seen in years.

To keep the conversation going, he backtracked. "You want to tell me about your sister?"

"Not really," Helene chuckled uncomfortably. "But I guess it would be a dick move not to after you've just poured your heart and soul out to me." She sighed and downed the rest of her whiskey in one go. "It'll make more sense if I tell you my story..." The blonde bit her lower lip before continuing.

Her life might not have been as long as Stefan's, or as eventful, but she told him all of it nonetheless. She told him about her Sanguis bloodline, how they were supposedly the most powerful witches ever to exist. How her father had died in a car crash when she was six, her mother of cancer when she was fifteen, leaving her and Nina alone to fend for themselves.

He sat and listened while she talked, just as interested in her as she'd been in him. He felt for her when she talked about her losses; first her parents, then the line of friends that ended up dead around her - which had taught her not to get too close to someone, never really letting anyone know who she really was in fear of them dying or leaving. She explained about her sister and how their relationship had been strained even before she turned into a vampire.

By the time they were both done speaking and questioning back and forth to the point where they knew each other like they'd always been friends, the sun had set and Helene was starving.

* * *

It seemed like the whole town had gathered in the town square for The Night of The Comet. After grabbing a bite to eat at the Grill, Helene and Stefan made their way over to the crowds. They found Bonnie, Caroline, Elena and Matt Donovan lighting their candles. When Helene saw the ex-couple speaking she sent Stefan a sympathetic look before walking over to Bonnie and Caroline, letting Elena and Stefan talk privately.

"Hey!" Caroline greeted, perky as ever. "Where were you today? You weren't in class."

"I was busy," she replied vaguely, putting her candle wick to Bonnie's flame, lighting her own white candle with a clear plastic receptacle around it.

"Doing what?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"Hanging with Stef." When she saw the looks the two best friends gave each other she rolled her eyes. "Don't do that. Don't send silent messages to each other. Stefan and I are just close friends. Nothing more. Besides, it's not like I can compete with Elena, she's so damn pretty."

"You're kidding, right?" the other blonde laughed as Bonnie raised a skeptical eyebrow. "If you haven't noticed, every male in this place is checking you out. Even Alec, the gay tuba player."

The three girls laughed and looked up at the comet trailing over the clear dark sky. Helene glanced around the people gathered and saw Elena walking away from Stefann. She walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"She apparently, she met Damon at the Grill today. He told her about Katherine."

"What?"

"Yeah, she thinks I'm on the rebound."

"Stef, I am so sorry. I'll see if I can talk some sense into her." Helene started to walk towards the place Elena went, but was stopped by an all too familiar voice.

"And where are you going, H?"

The blonde let out a heavy, exasperated sigh before turning to her sister. "Nina."

"Light my candle?" the older sister asked, holding out her unlit stick of wax.

Helene blew out her own flame. "Sorry, no can do."

"You can be such a bitch sometimes, you know that?"

She scoffed. "Look who's talking." In the dim moonlight, the hand-shaped scar glowed eerily. It wrinkled when Nina pulled a smile.

"Touché, little sis. But seriously-" She cut herself off when she saw Helene staring shockingly at something behind her. She turned to see, and saw two men on top of a roof, a girl lying on the ground between them. "That's interesting."

"Go away, Nina," Helene snapped before pushing her way through the mass of people and walking over to the building the three people were standing on. She went around back, careful not to be noticed by anyone, and jump up onto the fire escape that reached all the way up to the roof.

She made as little noise as possible, but inside she knew the vampires could hear her anyway. When she got to the roof, she saw Stefan standing there with a black haired man, clad in all black, holding onto Vicki Donovan's arm. She deduced that must be Damon Salvatore, the savage elder brother.

"Stefan Salvatore did this to you," Damon was telling her. No, not telling, Helene noticed, compelling.

"Stefan Salvatore did this to me," Vicki repeated.

"He's a vampire. A vicious, murderous monster."

"Please, Damon," Stefan begged helplessly. "Please don't do this." They all seemed oblivious to the witch's presence.

"If you couldn't fix it before, I don't know what you can do now." Damon reached up and tore the bandage off Vicki's neck, ripping the wound open again, making her yelp. Helene noticed Stefan's jaw clenching, trying to hold back the urge to bite her when Damon pushed her into his arms. "Your choice of lifestyle has made you weak. A couple of vampire parlor tricks is nothing compared to the power that you could have, that you now need. But you can change that. Human blood gives you that."

Stefan's eyes changed, his fangs popping out. Then he smelled something. Something familiar; spiced vanilla. He knew Helene was there, just a few feet away, hiding somewhere. The thought of her made him focus again. His eyes returned to normal and he pushed Vicki away from him.

"You have two choices," Damon continued, standing next to Stefan over Vicki. "You can feed, and make her forget. Or you can let her run screaming "vampire" through the town square."

"That's what this is about?" Stefan panted, discreetly searching for Helene. "You want to expose me?" His eyes caught hers where she was hiding in the fire escape, just behind the rooftop.

"No!" Damon yelled, getting in his brother's face. "I want you to remember who you are!"

"Why? So what, so I'll feed? So I'll kill? So I'll remember what it's like to be brothers again?" Stefan stood up and faced his older brother dead on. "You know what, let her go. Let her tell everyone that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls. Let them chain me up, and let them drive a stake through my heart, because at least I'll be free of you."

"Ouch," Helene commented, climbing fully onto the roof. The two vampires immediately turned their attention on her. Her sky-blue eyes met the icy ones of Damon Salvatore. "That was really mean of you, Stefan."

"And who do we have here?" Damon gave her a once over. "Malibu Barbie?"

Helene made a deal out of looking at him head to toe. God, she thought, is being handsome a Salvatore family trait? "Which one of the Village People are you supposed be?" Stefan had to keep from laughing, while Damon smirked in amusement.

"Oooh, feisty. I like it." He walked closer to her, her scent hitting his nose full on. His face changed and he was hoping for a scared reaction from her but was disappointed when she just brushed past him, bumping her shoulder into his.

"Stef, help me get Vicki home, will you?" she asked as she leaned down to the terrified redhead.

"Stef?" Damon mocked. "Don't tell me you're friends. You're just swimming in sexy ladies, Stefan. First Elena, now..." he stopped for her name. She ignored him. Fed up with her attitude, Damon clenched his jaw and took a step forward.

"Don't," Stefan warned.

"Or what?" Damon grabbed Helene by the arm and hoisted her up, his chest pressed against her back. He moved her blonde hair away and exposed her neck. He leant down and kissed it softly, smirking against her skin when he finally got her heart to race. "You're not gonna kill me."

"No," Helene replied for him. "But I might." She closed her eyes and concentrated. Stefan stared in shock while Damon groaned in pain and let her go, falling to the roof in agony. "Hurts, doesn't it?" she asked, moving over to stand by Stefan. "That's your blood boiling."

"Witch!" the raven haired vampire spat angrily.

"Fix her," Helene nodded toward Vicki. "Or I end you."

"Fine! Fine!" Damon shouted and sighed in relief when the pain went away. He got up, glaring daggers at the blonde. "I was gonna do it anyway. I can't have my baby brother exposed, can I?" He crouched down next to Vicki and whispered something in her ear.

"What happened?" Vicki looked around confused when Damon got up and walked toward Helene. "Where am I? Oh, I ripped my stitches open. Ah..."

"You OK?" Stefan asked. Damon and Helene were too busy having a staring match; sky-blue battling icy-blue. Both had similar smirks on their lips. They didn't break eye contact until Stefan touched Helene's arm and calling her name several times without response. "Helene!"

"What?" Vicki was gone, she noticed. When had that happened? She looked back at Damon and he looked just as confused. He hadn't compelled her. It had just been like they were the only two people around.

"It's good to be home," Damon stated. "Think I might stay a while. This town could use a bit of a wake-up call, don't you think?"

"What are you up to, Damon?" Stefan took a protective step in front of Helene, who rolled her eyes.

"That's for me to know and for you to... dot dot dot." He fixed his eyes on Helene's again and stepped closer to her. Stefan was in his way, but he just shoved him to the side. Damon took her hand and put it to his lips. "Until next time."

"Can't wait," she replied sarcastically before walking away.

Stefan walked up to him, getting in his face. "Stay away from her, Damon. And Elena."

Damon only smirked mischievously before jumping off the roof and disappearing. Stefan made his way over to Helene.

"You gonna help me down?" she asked, looking over the rooftop.

"Sure," he smiled. "Hold on." He took a hold around her waist and jumped off, landing smoothly on the ground. "I'm sorry about my brother. He's..."

"An asshole," she finished for him. "I can handle him. See you later."

* * *

Helene returned home a little before midnight after spending some time with Caroline and Bonnie at the Grill. For some reason she just couldn't get the elder Salvatore out of her mind. She blamed it on his good looks and her weakness for bad boys.

She changed into her night clothes and crawled into bed. She jumped when there was a caw to her left. A raven was sitting on her windowsill, cawing loudly.

"Stupid bird," she muttered before throwing a pillow at it and snuggling under her covers.

* * *

**Just so you know, review make me very, very happy. And thanks for all the people who have Favorited and set this on Story Alert. But like I said, review! **


	4. Ruining Nights

**Chapter 4**

**Ruining Nights**

* * *

"No, I'm telling you," Helene insisted while she walked with Stefan through the schoolyard. "There's no way Patrick Stewart is just human. He looks exactly the same as when he was younger. There must be something going on there."

Stefan chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Heels, just let it go."

"Heels?" she quirked an eyebrow. "I thought we agreed on Heely." He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "Not that I'm complaining. I like it a lot better. Look," Helene nodded. "There's Bonnie and Elena." She went to go forward, but stopped and turned on Stefan. "You never did tell me how that kiss happened. I want all the dirty details later." She poked him in the chest with a finger to show him how serious she was, then turned and greeted the two girls. "Hi."

"Good morning, Elena," Stefan smiled. "Good morning, Bonnie."

Bonnie shifted uncomfortably and looked between Helene and Elena. "Hey, um, I gotta find Caroline. She's not answering her phone. So, see you guys later." Then she walked off, despite Elena's attempt at stalling her.

"She doesn't like me very much," Stefan stated, making Helene roll her eyes.

"No shit, Sherlock."

"She doesn't know you," Elena countered, sending the blonde a look that told her to be a little more supportive. "She's my best friend. She's just looking out for me. But when she does, she will love you." The three of them started walking around. The yard was filled with people, including the football players throwing passes to each other.

"Of course she will," Helene agreed. "Who could ever resist that jaw line of yours?" She ran her finger along said jaw line in a joking gesture. Stefan swatted her hand away, but they were all smiling.

"Here's what we're going to do," Elena halted their walk. "Are you free tonight?"

Stefan pretended to think about it before saying, "Yes."

Elena looked at Helene. "Oh, I'm included in this. Cool. Sure."

"Perfect. Dinner, my house, eight o'clock. You two, me, and Bonnie." She looked at Stefan with a determined face. "You and Bonnie will spend some quality time and she'll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished."

"Sounds like a good idea," the other girl nodded.

From across the yard, Tyler throws the football towards Stefan who's got his back turned. But before it hits him, he swirls around and catches it. He lifts the ball up with a smile while everyone stares at him in shock. He throws the ball back and Tyler catches it, but staggers a little under the impact. Helene sends Stefan a knowing smirk that he shrugs to, but she doesn't miss his own little smile.

* * *

After a history class where Stefan and Mr. Tanner had a history-themed pissing contest, Helene found him sitting on the bleachers watching the football team practice. Elena and Bonnie were both by the cheerleaders, stretching to get warm.

The team finished a practice routine before they took a break. Since summer had just ended, the weather was still warm and several of the footballers took their gear off, including their shirts. When Helene noticed Tyler Lockwood going to do so, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Yeah, Lockwood! Take it off!" All of the guys turned to look at her, even Stefan, and she laughed. Seeing her, Tyler started moving like a stripper would while taking off his jersey. Helene laughed again and yelled, "I said take it off, not hump it off!" Laughing again as many of the other boys started doing the same thing, she approached Stefan and sat down next to him, placing her bag beside her. "Hey."

"Hey," was his short reply.

"Thinking about joining?" she asked as they watched the football team get yelled at by Mr. Tanner, who wasn't just the history teacher, but also the football coach.

"With Mr. Tanner as coach and Tyler and Matt on the team? I don't think I'd make it."

"Maybe you're right," Helene sighed. "You probably suck at actually playing, anyway. Throwing a good pass is one thing, but playing the field, with teammates and rules and protective headgear? That's totally different."

"Hey!" Stefan said affronted, nudging her arm.

"I'm just kidding," she smiled, nudging him back. They stayed quiet for a while, watching the team start practicing again. "Do you **like** football?" She still had her eyes on the field.

"Yes," he nodded.

"Do you want to **play** football?"

"Yes, " he sighed, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"Do you want to humiliate Tyler Lockwood at football?" She smirked, but still kept her eyes on the team.

Stefan hesitated, but finally answered,"... yes."

"Then stop trying to find a reason you can't," she told him, finally turning to look at him. "Go for it. I'm sure you're great."

"I might hurt someone..."

"People get hurt on the field constantly, Stef. And if you really hurt them, - like paralysis hurt - just give them your blood and they'll be fine. Come on," she stood up and gathered her bag.

"Where are you going?" he frowned before she grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

"**You** are going to try out for the team. **I'm** going to drag your ass down there if you refuse."

Stefan stared at her, a little shocked, but gave in. He hadn't known her that long, but knew she was stubborn when she wanted to be.

"Varsity try-outs were last spring, Mr. Salvatore," Mr. Tanner told him, not even glancing back at him. Helene stood next to Stefan, urging him on with a look.

"I-I wasn't here then, Sir.," the teenage vampire replied.

"Then you're not here now, as far as I'm concerned."

Stefan shifted his stance a little. "Mr. Tanner, I realize you and I didn't get off to the best start. And I want to apologize for that..."

"Mr. Tanner," Helene butted in, seeing her friend failing to get his attention. "He's really good. The whole team saw him throwing earlier. Just give him a chance."

"Miss Smith," Mr. Tanner regarded her with judgmental eyes. "Shouldn't you be over there?" he pointed toward the cheerleaders. "With your own kind?"

"Martial Arts are more my thing," she replied. "Now stop being an ass and let Stefan try out. You'll be begging to have him on your team after you've seen what he can do, I swear."

Mr. Tanner looked between both teens and sighed. "Fine. Just to watch you get knocked on your ass. Borrow some gear. Go! Before I change my mind."

Helene smiled widely and pushed Stefan toward the football gear. "Make me proud."

Stefan threw on the gear and ran out to the field, getting ready to show them what he had to offer. After they had played a while, Stefan playing like a pro, Helene saw Elena approaching from her cheer squad. She walked over to her.

"Tired of being bossed around by Caroline?" she asked.

"She told me to observe because I don't know the routines," she answered, looking a bit miserable. "Did you know she and Stefan's brother were a thing?"

"Damon?" Helene frowned and Elena nodded. "Why? I mean, he's hot and all but he's..." She couldn't say evil, Elena didn't know yet. Maybe she should push Stefan to do that too, come clean with everything. No, she decided, she would stay out of that. "He's an asshole."

"You know him?"

"We met," Helene shrugged. "Did you get Bonnie to agree to dinner?"

"Yep, she's coming. All though reluctantly. I see Stefan's having a good time," she smiled toward her boyfriend who was dodging another player at the time.

"Thanks to me," Helene declared proudly. "He needed a good push."

"You're a great friend to him, Heels."

Helene laughed hearing the nickname coming from her. "He told you about that?" They laughed together. "And just so you know, Elena; I'm a great friend to anyone who wants me. Including you."

"Thanks," she smiled and hugged her. "I should get back to the others. See you tonight."

"Bye," Helene called after her as she ran off.

* * *

Later that night, Bonnie and Helene are with Elena in her kitchen, preparing for dinner. Soft music is playing in the background while Bonnie rambles on.

"You explain it. Last night, I'm watching Nine-o, a commercial breaks come on and I'm like, 'I bet it's that phone commercial'. And sure enough, it's that guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris and he flies back. They take a picture-"

"Oh, come on," Elena laughed, taking out bowls from the cupboard. "That commercial's on a constant loop."

"Fine. Well, how about this? Today I'm obsessed with numbers. Three numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14, and 22. How weird is that?"

"Maybe we should play the lottery," the brunette joked, putting take-out food from the Grill and placing it in the bowls.

"Have you talked your Grams?" Helene asked. "Maybe she knows something."

"She's just gonna say it's because I'm a witch. I don't want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?"

"I don't wanna be a witch," Elena answered.

"I don't see why not," Helene answered and got weird looks from the others. "What? Think about it. You can do all sorts of cool things. People would think you were insane if you told anyone, but I say being able to set things on fire with your mind trumps being normal. Not that you have much of a choice. If you're a witch, well, then, you're a witch. Nothing you can do about it."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience," Elena laughed before turning around in a circle. "Ok, serving spoons. Where are the serving spoons?"

"Middle drawer on your left," Bonnie pointed. Elena and Helene shared a look before looking at Bonnie. She just shrugged. Elena opened the drawer Bonnie suggested and sure enough, the serving spoons were there.

"Ok, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times," she explains it. The doorbell rings. "Ok, he's here. Don't be nervous. Just be your normal loving self." She puts the spoons down and goes to open the door for Stefan.

"Try something else," Helene urged Bonnie when they were alone, putting the serving spoons in the bowls.

"Ok... Birthday candles." Bonnie closes her eyes and opens a nearby drawer, finding the candles lying there. She takes them out and shows them to Helene, a shocked look on her face.

Helene smiles and moves over to her, taking a candle out of the box. "Watch this." She brings the candle up to her mouth and blows on it, igniting the unlit wick. Bonnie gasps and Helene laughs before blowing the light out and walking into the dining room with the food.

A few minutes later, the four of them are eating in uncomfortable silence, the only thing heard being cutlery against the dinner plates. Elena takes a sip from her drink before clearing her throat and asking Stefan, "Did Tanner give you a hard time today?"

"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right," he replies, trying to make eye contact with everyone, but failing to with Bonnie.

"If it hadn't been for me, you'd still be sitting on the bleachers being all lonely," Helene said.

"Yeah, thanks for that."

"You're welcome."

"Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today," Elena said. "Tyler threw a ball right at him, and-"

"Yeah, I heard," she cut her off, sending the table into silence again. And once again, Elena came to the rescue.

"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?"

Bonnie sent her a glare, but complied. "Um, divorced. No mom. Live with my dad."

"No, about the witches," Elena pushed. Stefan frowned and looked at Helene who smiled at him knowingly. Bonnie also sent the blonde a nervous look, remembering the trick she did in the kitchen. "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool."

"Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie said. Wow, Helene thought, she's really in denial.

"Well, it's certainly interesting," Stefan stated. "I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s."

"My family came by way of Salem."

"Really?" Helene asked. "Salem witches? Don't tell me that's not cool."

"I agree," Stefan nodded.

"Really?" Bonnie asked. "Why?"

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity." This made Bonnie smile.

"Yeah, they are." The feeling in the room was just getting lighter when the doorbell rang for the second time.

"I wonder who that could be," Elena frowned, putting her napkin aside and walking over to open the door. Outside, stood Caroline and Damon. Caroline was holding a cake in her hands and a big smile was on her face.

"Surprise! Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert."

"Oh," Elena uttered.

"Hope you don't mind," Damon said smoothly as Caroline walked in and took her jacket off. Stefan and Helene both walked over to see who had arrived, and shared a quick worried look when they saw Damon standing outside.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked his brother.

"Waiting for Elena to invite me in."

"Oh, yeah, you can-" she started but Stefan stopped her.

"No, no, no. He can't, uh... he can't stay. Can you, Damon?"

"Get in here," Caroline said before walking into the living room.

"We're just... finishing up," Stefan tried again, not wanting Damon invited in.

"It's fine," Elena smiled. "Just come on in."

Damon smiled at Stefan before walking over the threshold and into the house. He made sure to stop in front of Helene. "Nice seeing you again."

"Wish I could say the same," she replied before walking past him. He made sure to move his body so she brushed against him on her way. He turned to Elena.

"You have a beautiful home, Elena."

"Thank you," she replied before closing the door.

"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team," Caroline was saying after they'd all relocated to the living room. She had a scarf around her throat, sitting on the armrest of the chair Damon was sitting in, a cup of tea in her hands. "Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it."

"That's what I always tell him," Damon said. "You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."

"Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."

"I'll work with her," Bonnie told her, sitting next to Helene. "She'll get it."

"What about you, Helene?" Damon asked. "Are you a cheerleader?"

"No, but I used to be a gymnast," she answered. "I was good, too."

"Why'd you stop?" Elena asked, glad to be away from Caroline's cheerleading talk.

Helene shrugged. "Got bored, life got in the way, found other things to focus on."

"Maybe you can show us some moves," Demon suggested, sending her a lustful look. Caroline noticed that and his seductive voice, and jealousy kicked in, but she would save it for later.

"Sure," Helene smiled, surprising everyone. She stood up and rolled her neck, stretched her arms and straightened her back. She took a deep breath and brought her arms up, only to give Damon both her middle fingers.

"Helene!" Caroline exclaimed, while the others tried to hide their amusement. Damon got to his feet, shoving Caroline off him in the process, and walked up to Helene.

"You'll have to excuse my technique," she told him as he towered over her. "I'm a bit rusty."

"Come on," he pouted. "Show us something better."

"Keep fantasizing, Salvatore. It'll never happen." She looked past him and to Elena. "I'll start cleaning up." She then walked over to the dining room to gather the dishes. It wasn't long before Caroline stomped over, her arms crossed over her chest and voice hushed.

"Elena might be fine with it, but I am not okay with you flirting with my boyfriend. He's mine, I saw him first. So back off."

Helene laughed slightly. "You're kidding, right? How on earth can you take what just happened as flirting?"

"I saw the looks you were giving him, the way you tease him, so just stop it."

"Okay, listen here, Caroline. Stefan and I are just good friends. He's all Elena's. And when it comes to Damon, don't worry about it; no one else wants him. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna clean this up." Helene picks the plates off the table and walks into the kitchen, beginning to rinse them in the sink. She went back to the table to get the glasses and returned to the kitchen.

A few seconds later, Damon walked in holding a glass. "One more."

"Thanks," she went to take it from him and put them with the other glasses on the bench, but it slipped out of her hand. Thankfully Damon caught it before it hit the ground. "Show off," she scoffed and moved past.

"You knew I was listening," he stated, making her stop and look at him. "When you were talking to Caroline."

"I figured you might be," Helene replied. "But that doesn't make it any less true." Just then, Elena walked into the kitchen. "Hey, I think I'm gonna go home."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I had a great time." Then she glanced back at Damon who smirked at her and added, "Mostly. See you tomorrow." She walked out into the hallway and opened the door.

"Hold up," Damon followed. "It's late, and I hear that makes it dangerous for pretty girls to walk home alone. I'll come with, keep you safe."

"Thanks for the offer, Damon, but I think I'll be fine."

"I insist." He grabbed his leather jacket and followed her outside. He looked both ways and asked, "Which way?"

"That way," she pointed to the left and he offered her his arm. She rolled her eyes and continued on. They took twenty steps before she sarcastically said, "Thanks for that, Damon. I was really scared there for a second." She unlocked her door.

"What?" he asked. "No goodnight kiss?"

"Aren't you forgetting something? Like, I don't know, your girlfriend?"

He stepped closer to her. "But you're so much more fun."

Helene chuckled and shook her head. "Goodnight, Damon."

She crawled into bed after taking a shower, and once again, that raven was cawing by her window. "Shoo!" she waved her hands at it. All it did was flap its wings. Shaking her head in annoyance and letting out a deep sigh, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

_Helene was walking through the woods. The sun was high in the cloudless sky, birds were singing and the smell of dirt and nature all around. She smiled when she came to a waterfall. It went straight down and into a deep green lake beneath._

_Getting an idea, Helene threw her top and jeans off along with her shoes and socks. She stepped to the edge of the waterfall only wearing her underwear and, with a deep breath, jumped out. For the short time she was airborne it felt like she was flying, not falling._

_Then she hit the water's surface and plummeted into the cool water. She gasped for air when she resurfaced, closing her eyes as she floated on her back. Another loud splash sounded and water rushed at her from close to her head, submerging it in water. Her head resurfaced and she laughed when someone wrapped their arms around her waist and turned her toward them._

_"That was way too close," she reprimanded. "You could've hit me!"_

_"And hurt you?" Damon Salvatore asked, "Never."_

_"Yeah, right. The only reason you haven't killed me yet is because you know I'll fight you. The truth is, Damon Salvatore, you're afraid of me."_

_"Is that what I am?" he smirked and kissed her lips, sending warm energy through both of them. Helene kissed him back, opening her lips for him when his tongue grazed her lip. She pulled away first, a mischievous smile on her face that made him want to kiss her again, but she escaped his embrace._

_"You're such an idiot, Damon. A crow, really?" He frowned, but was pushed underwater by Helene before he could say anything. When he got to the surface again, she was gone. "I'm not some simple human for you to play with," her voice came from behind him. He turned, only to find nothing. "You think you're all that, strutting around like you allow everyone else to live. But guess what, Damon?" Helene appeared in front of him in the water, so close he could feel her breath. Something else he could feel was the stake she had pressed to his heart. "I'm the one allowing you to live. For Stefan's sake." Then she plunged the stake through his heart so far it stuck out his back._

Helene gasped as she woke in her bed with a start. She looked over to the window and saw the sun was starting to rise, along with the raven lying lifeless on her windowsill. She smiled to herself and jumped out of bed.

* * *

That night was game night, the Mystic Falls Timberwolves playing against the Fulton Steamers. Practically the whole school was present, watching as Mr. Tanner climbed up to the podium that stood in front of a large 'Go Team' banner. The football team stood to the left of the stage, dressed in their red and white jerseys, while the other people stood in front of the stage in a large group, the cheerleaders with their pompoms and uniforms at the front. Elena and Helene made their way to the front, to stand next to Caroline and Bonnie. The crowd cheered and shouted wildly before the coach spoke up.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," he paused while the shouting simmered down. "Let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us!" The crowd booed. "But that is about to change." Now the students cheered in excitement. "We've got some great new talent tonight starting on the offensive line, and I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these."

"Yeah! Go Stefan!" Helene shouted with the rest of the people. She looked at Elena and saw the new necklace around her throat. "Ooh, that's pretty."

"Yeah, Stefan gave it to me. He's so sweet."

"A bit early, don't you think?" Bonnie asked, her pompoms at her side.

Elena was about to answer when Tyler stepped up to them, having made his way from his team and over to Helene. He looked at her and smiled. "You gonna be cheering for me tonight?"

"Do I look like a cheerleader?" she asked back, ignoring the looks the other three girls were giving them.

"You certainly have the body for it."

"What do you want, Tyler?" Caroline asked, annoyed.

He ignored her and stepped closer to Helene. "How about a good luck kiss?"

"With Stefan on the team, you won't need luck." Helene knew exactly how little he liked Stefan as a teammate, and had no problem irking him about it.

"Come on," the footballer pleaded, pouting slightly. "Just a small one. On the cheek."

"Fine," she sighed. "If it'll make you leave, and because you were nice to me and helped me get that chest into the house. I'm so going to regret this..." She leaned toward his cheek, and just as her lips neared it, Tyler turned his head and caught her lips with his. Helene gasped and pulled back, slamming her hands into his shoulders. "Jerk!"

"Don't act like you didn't like it. I'll see you after the game."

"Not likely." She walked a little away, just to leave him behind. Elena and the others followed.

"What was that?" Caroline asked.

"It's nothing," she waved it off, taking a red plastic cup from a stack and filling it from the beer keg nearby. "I said I would regret it."

"That was not nothing," Bonnie argued with an amused look. "He's totally into you."

"Definitely," Elena agreed.

"He just thinks I'm hot. He doesn't like me." She took a sip from her drink.

"He's a total asshole," Caroline said. "Did you hear about that thing with Vicki? He broke up with her, probably because of you. But you should stay away from him, he'll just end up hurting you."

"He won't hurt me," Helene told them seriously. "I don't let people get close enough to do that. And you're right, Caroline, he's a total asshole. But," she shrugged her shoulders. "It could be fun. And as it happens, I tend to have a thing for assholes..." She was smirking in a way that made the others think she was up to something.

"Are you gonna see him after the game?" Elena asked.

"What? No. I'm not gonna make it that easy for him." The group of girls laughed a little, but stopped when the crowd started moving into the parking lot. They followed the flow of people and found Elena's brother and Tyler fighting, Tyler beating Jeremy who was lying on the ground.

"He's down!" Stefan shouted, sweeping in to stop the fight. "Enough!" He grabs a hold of Tyler's arm to keep him from landing another punch, and Tyler turns and punches Stefan in the stomach. He doesn't even flinch. Meanwhile, Jeremy crawls to a broken bottle, gripping it in his hand.

"Jeremy, no!" Elena screams, but before Jeremy reaches Tyler with the bottle, Stefan shoves him out of the way, taking the glass to his hand, blood rushing to the wound immediately.

"What the hell, Jeremy?" Elena pushes her brother back while Matt handles Tyler. Helene runs over to Stefan's side.

"Good job. Let me see." He shows her his hand and they watch it knitting itself back. After finishing yelling at Jeremy, Elena turns to them.

"Your hand," she says, coming over and reaching for it. Stefan clenches it shut. "Is it deep? How bad is it? Come on!" He opens his hand, now fully healed, with just a little blood left. "But... I saw it, it was..."

"He missed. It's not my blood." He wiped his hand on his jeans. "See? I'm fine."

"No, no, no. I... I saw it. The glass cut your hand. It was..."

"It was just a trick of the lights," Helene covered. "Nothing to worry about."

"It's ok. I'm ok," Stefan assured his girlfriend. "It's almost kick-off time, all right? So, um, I'll, uh, I'll see you after the game." He throws Helene a look and she nods in response before he walks off toward the football field.

"Elena," the blonde put her hand on her shoulder. "Just take it easy. Calm down. It was nothing."

The brunette nods. "I need to talk to Bonnie."

"All right. I forgot my cell phone in the car. I'll meet up with you later." With that she left to find her car.

* * *

The parking lot was full of cars but devoid of people. Helene pressed her car keys and walked toward the beeping sound that answered. She opened her car door and reached inside to retrieve her phone. Closing her door again, she jumped when she felt a rush of air behind her. When she turned around she came face to face with Damon.

"Oh, I didn't mean to scare you," he told her, smirking like usual.

"Of course you did," she replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm-" he turned around as if to make sure no one was nearby and turned back, holding a hand on the side of his mouth. "I'm hiding from Caroline," he whispered.

"Why?" Helene whispered back.

"I needed a break," he said in a normal volume. "She talks more than I can listen."

"Sounds like trouble in paradise."

"She's awfully young," he stated.

"Everyone's awfully young to you, Damon. You're a hundred and something years old, remember?"

"Wow," he leaned back and rolled on his toes. "Stefan really has told you everything."

"Yes, he has," she nodded. "And therefore I know you're up to something. You have some other intention than just making Stefan's life miserable."

"You're right," Damon relented with a sigh. "You got me. I do have other intentions. But so do you."

"Really?" she lifted an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Mm-hmm," he nodded. "I see 'em. You want me."

"I'm sorry?" she asked, surprised and amused at the same time.

"I get to you. You find yourself drawn to me. You think about me even when you don't want to think about me. I bet you even dreamed about me. And right now... You want to kiss me." His pupils dilated as he compelled her, leaning in close. He could feel her breath against his face, her enticing smell filling his nose. Just before their lips touched, Helene smiled and punched him square in the jaw, so hard it sent him stumbling back a little.

"You're such an asshole, Damon. Oh, and before I forget." She pulled a couple of black feathers out of her pockets. "I killed your pet raven. Sorry."

Damon smirked as he regained his composure. "Saint Stefan gave you vervain, didn't he?"

"Saint Stefan?" she asked with a laugh. "No, he did not. Turns out, I can't be compelled. Probably has something to do with my witchyness." She wriggled her fingers in the air. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a game to catch." She walked past him, bumping her shoulder into his as she passed.

"Saint Stefan wasn't always so nice, you know," Demon called after her, making her turn to him again. "He used to be worse than me."

"I heard you used to be nice once, too," Helene countered, canting her head slightly to the side. "I guess everyone has something they'd like to forget."

"And what do you want to forget?" he walked closer to her again, standing just close enough so they didn't touch, but he could feel warmth radiating from her.

"You," she replied snidely, smirking.

"Ouch," Damon raised his hand to his chest in a feigned gesture of hurt.

"Oh, come on, you were basically begging for that."

"If I beg for something else," he stroked her face, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Will you give that to me too?"

Helene removed his hand from her face and shoved it back. "You're just the biggest jerk around."

"And you love it."

She laughed and shook her head.

"Helene!" she heard a voice call and turned to see Stefan walking over.

"Little brother," Damon greeted. "Don't you look all cool in uniform."

"What are you doing here?"

"Funny, Heels here just asked that same question not five minutes ago. Don't worry, we're just having a nice conversation."

"Which I was just ending," Helene said, turning to leave again. "Good luck with the game, Stefan."

"Did you know Malibu Barbie couldn't be compelled?" Damon asked his brother, making Helene stop in her tracks again. He really did that to her a lot, she noticed before stepping back to Stefan's side. When Damon saw Stefan frowning at his friend, he continued. "Looks like you were the only one to spill **all** the beans. What's the matter, Heels? Afraid you can't trust him?"

"It just didn't come up," Helene told Stefan, ignoring Damon's jibe.

"It's all right," Stefan assured her.

"I saw the necklace you gave to Elena," Damon continued. "Let me guess, it has vervain in it. The only thing I can't figure out is where you got it."

"Does it matter?"

"Guess I could just seduce them the old-fashioned way," he suggested, speaking like Helene wasn't standing right next to him. "Or I could just... eat them."

"Like you'd be able to," Helene snapped.

"No," Stefan said. "You're not gonna hurt them, Damon."

"No?" he asked.

"Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that feels for Elena, and you seem to like Helene too much. I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you, that you may have actually become the monster that you pretend to be."

"Who's pretending?" the older vampire smirked.

"Then kill me," Stefan challenged, making Helene sigh in frustration.

"Well," Damon drawled. "I'm... I'm tempted."

"No, you're not," his brother shook his head. "You've had lifetimes to do it, and yet, here I am. I'm still alive. And there you are. You're still haunting me. After 145 years. Katherine is dead. And you hate me because you loved her, and you torture me because you still do. And that, my brother, is your humanity."

"Salvatore!" Mr. Tanner's annoying voice broke off the showdown. "What the hell? We've got a game to play!"

"If that's my humanity... then what's this?" Damon blurred forward, in between Stefan and Helene, to get to the football coach. He screamed as the vampire plunged his fangs into his neck.

"No!" Stefan yelled, and after another second Damon let the body of Mr. Tanner fall to the ground.

"Anyone," Damon turned toward them, his face changed, his mouth dripping with blood. "anytime, anyplace."

"You're like a petulant child!" Helene yelled, enraged by his actions. "This is why no one wants you, Damon." The vampire coughed, pain starting to run through him. Groaning, he fell to his knees, clutching his heart as Helene walked forward. "Why the only ones not telling you to leave is the people you manipulate. I will not stand by and watch innocent people die because of you. You're still alive because of a courtesy to Stefan, but that only goes so far."

"A bit judgmental, don't you think, sis?" Nina appeared from the shadows, sauntering over to the group. Stefan stiffened, knowing how she'd hurt Helene before. "Oh, lookie here. Another man coming to your rescue. You did always have a way of making people love you." She tore her eyes from her sister and directed them at Stefan, completely ignoring Damon who grunted in pain when Helene kept her hold on him. "Your brother was right earlier. She doesn't trust you, not completely. But don't take it personally, she never lets anyone closer than she wants. The way she grew up has made her build these huge walls around her heart, keeping people at a safe distance. A defense mechanism, that's all it is. Nothing to blame her for."

"What do want, Nina?" Helene asked in an annoyed voice, her arms crossed, finally letting go of Damon. Just to be safe, she kept him in her view. But he just stood up and listened to the newly arrived vampire, too interested to interrupt.

Nina ignored the blonde. "Unless she manipulates you, of course. 'Cause she's good at that when she wants to be. Just like she's all sweet and caring, until she wants to be a bitch. That, she's excellent at."

"Why don't you just leave?" Helene uttered, rolling her eyes. In truth, she really wanted her sister to stop talking. None of this was good for Stefan to hear.

"I'm actually a bit surprised she's told you she's a witch already. That's usually a nice card to have hidden up your sleeve, wouldn't you say, **Heels**?"

"It's not like you'd know," she answered, stepping around Stefan to stand in front of her. "You were never any good at it."

"See?" Nina asked the two guys. "So bitchy."

"What happened to your face?" Damon finally decided to enter the conversation. The girl would be hot if it wasn't for that huge scar on her face. Nina sent him a dirty look before charging for him, knocking him to the ground. She bared her fangs and hissed.

"None of your business."

Damon retaliated by kicking her off him, sending her flying into a brick wall. No sooner had he gotten to his feet did she rush at him again, hitting him several times before breaking his leg and throwing him down on the ground, chest against the asphalt, her boot pressed firmly on his back to keep him down. Stefan looked shocked, while Helene just looked annoyed. She was too used to her sisters temper to react. And it was Damon she was hurting, she'd hurt him herself just minutes ago.

"How old are you?" Stefan asked cautiously, seeing her overpowering his brother so easily.

"Twenty five," Nina answered.

"I think he means, how long have you been a vampire," Helene said.

"Oh, right. Then I'm just shy of two years."

"No way," Damon shook his head, struggling a little with his face pressed to the ground and all. "I'm way older than you. I should be snapping you like a twig."

"Yes, you should," Nina agreed, smiling. "Another perk with our Sanguis blood. That's wrong... Sanguis means blood in Latin, so what I just said was Blood blood. Anyway," she shook her head, getting back on track. "Not only are we often witches, but apparently we make really strong vampires. Isn't that interesting?"

"Oh, totally," Helene said sarcastically, getting tired of her older sibling. "Was there a reason for you to come here, or did you just feel like ruining my night?"

"I wanted to ruin your night," Nina answered, letting Damon get up. She walked over to her sister and grabbed her arm tightly. "You'll have to excuse us, boys. We have some family matters to solve. Have a nice night." With that, she sped off with Helene in her hold.

* * *

Nina slammed her little sister against a thick tree trunk. She'd sped them off to a clearing in the middle of the woods, not far from the waterfalls the town had taken its name from. She would've heard the water crashing against the stones even without her vampire hearing.

The brunette looked at the blonde, her grip tight around her neck. The smell of her blood, so utterly appetizing, and the slightly increased beat of her heart, was making it hard to resist draining her completely. But she couldn't do that. Katherine needed her.

The vampire's brown eyes gazed into the sky-blue of her sister's. She remembered when her mom and dad had come home from the hospital, carrying Helene in a pink blanket. She'd stayed home with E, the family friend they'd resulted in just calling by his first letter because Nina wasn't able to pronounce his full name. Her seven year old self had been ecstatic when they walked through the door, happy to have a real-life doll she could play with.

After two days with a constant flow of people coming and going to their current house in Seattle, all of them doting on her new sibling, the joy had started to fade immensely. Everyone asked her how it was to finally have a sister, and she'd answered politely back, like the good girl she was, that it was super. It had only been true for the first five hours.

Then, her thoughts changed to summer days spent in Florida, both of them sun burnt from a defiance against sunscreen.

Helene's first day of school. If Nina recalled, it had been someplace in Montana. The blonde had worn a pink top and a white skirt with her hair in crooked pigtails and a purple backpack she'd worn since she'd woken up that morning, refusing to take it off. That had been the year their dad died.

The day of Nina's graduation. That was supposed to be her day, everyone focused on her and her wishes. But of course, Helene had managed to fall off a swing on the playground earlier and needed to get stitches. E had gone with her to the hospital so their mother could go to the graduation, but that hadn't been good enough. Ever since Richard died, it was E that had taken over the role of man in the house. He didn't live with them, but hung around so much it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Secretly, Nina was in love with him, even though he was, at least, in his late twenties.

Then Simon entered the picture. He was twenty years old, lean and handsome. Nina could lose herself in his green eyes for hours, and did so many times while they were dating. That was just a year ago. He was her Prince Charming now that E had bailed out on them. Simon was the bad boy type; smoked, drank too much, rode a motorcycle, had a knack for getting into fights and other kinds of trouble. Nina had to get him out of jail three times during their relationship. She was half convinced they'd get married one day and live happily ever after. But Helene had to ruin that too.

It still stung remembering catching Simon in a lip lock with Helene outside their door. Nina had just turned into a vampire -but only Helene knew- and had heard her sister and someone else standing outside the apartment. Her heart had broken into a thousand little pieces seeing them kissing. She later found out they'd been together behind her back for months. And according to them, they were in love. Her seventeen year old sister and her twenty year old boyfriend, in love and cheating on her.

The memories brought back all the anger and she slammed Helene against the tree again, some of the bark splintering off at impact. Helene coughed.

"Can't we just have a civil conversation for once, N?" Helene asked, her voice hoarse from the chokehold. "Like a proper family?"

"Family?" Nina screeched. "We are **not** family. Not anymore. You saw to that."

"Me?" Helene looked shocked, but her breath was as even as it could be with her sister gripping her throat, her heartbeat normal. "You're the one trying to kill me! What have I ever done to make you hate me so much?"

"You've taken everything from me!" The older Smith threw her sister to the ground several feet away. A sickening crack sounded when her left arm connected with the hard surface. Helene yelped and held her arm to her chest. "First Dad, then Mom and E. For a while I actually forgave you. Until you took Simon, too!" She kicked her sister in the stomach, sending her flying into another tree before falling back down to the ground.

"What are you talking about?" Helene shouted, her anger winning over her pain and all other emotion.

"Dad was on his way to **your** song contest when he crashed! E wasn't at my graduation because **you** just had to get hurt! And Mom-"

"It's not like I meant to hurt myself!" Helene cut in, standing up. "And you had Mom there!"

"I wanted them both there!" Nina yelled, starting to charge forward, but was stopped when Helene threw her right arm in her direction, slowing her movements so it was like moving through Jell-O. Any other person would've been stopped completely, but their shared blood gave her powers less effect.

"I'm sorry, but you can't always get what you want!"

"Always get what I want?" she repeated in a disgusted tone. "I never did. Because of you! **You** always got what **I** wanted! The love, the attention, the grades! All of it! You've always been so fucking **perfect**! And do you know what the worst part is?" She was gaining some ground, continuing forward while she talked. She sounded so broken when she said, "You don't even try."

"No, no, no!" Helene shook her head in protest. "Don't give me that! You kept making it hard to love you. Mom loved us both equally, I just made it easier for her, while you ran around like a spoiled brat, always fighting with her and me, drinking, doing drugs. She worried about you constantly. That's why she was so mad at you; because she loved you! And what did you do? You hated her for it!"

"I didn't hate her!" The vampire managed to break through the magic and tackled her sister to the ground, straddling her.

"You sure acted like it!" Helene yelled before punching Nina's jaw, sending her tumbling off her. The blonde took her chance and got on top of her. "And if you hadn't been such a bitch, maybe Simon wouldn't have run into my arms!"

That comment made Nina's anger flare up like gasoline was thrown on a fire. She pushed her little sister off, rushed her and grabbed her hair, yanking her head to the side to expose her neck. Her eyes changed and her fangs came out, then she sunk her teeth deep into her flesh. Now Helene's heart started beating faster. Nina pulled away, blood dripping down her chin.

"He was **mine**! Simon belonged to me, but you just couldn't stay away, could you?" Tree branches snapped when she threw Helene farther into the woods. The blonde was dirty and full of scratches, plus the bleeding bite mark on her neck.

"This is all about him, isn't it?" she asked, still defiant. Trying to stand up caused her to stumble a little, but with the help of a tree, she managed to stand up straight. "Simon. You loved him, and he loved me. And because he chose me, you killed him! Not a day goes by that I don't miss him, or Mom, or Dad! Everyone around me keeps dying, including you! Don't you think I've suffered enough?"

Seeing her baby sister starting to cry and hearing her desperate voice halted Nina's resolve for a minute. She stared at Helene. Then, calmly, she said, "You're the reason he's dead. It's all your fault." Helene cried harder, remembering Nina draining Simon dry right in front of her. "No one loves you anymore. You're all alone. Completely and utterly alone."

"Then why don't you just kill me?" Helene screamed, sobs wracking her body.

"I'm not allowed to do that. But she never said anything about torturing you." Then Nina charged, fangs bared and anger coursing through her veins.

* * *

Pain. For what felt like hours, that was all there was. Helene's world consisted of three things; pain, muffled sounds, and bright lights that brought on more pain if she looked directly at them.

Somehow -she wasn't really sure how- she'd managed to get out of the woods after Nina had left her bleeding on the forest floor. Several bite marks were left on her neck and wrists, at least three ribs were broken and her left arm protruded unnaturally away from her body. Her blonde hair was matted against her head by blood and dirt, pinecones and needles tangled in. Her face was contorted in agony, her lip split, nose bleeding, a deep gash over her right eye that blood seeped out of. Stumbling, she made her way to her house, using the walls for support, making bloody smears on the white paint.

Damon, who had run to the Gilbert home to watch Elena, his comfort version of Katherine, smelled the scent of blood. He walked towards it and saw Helene entering her house, her face marred with blood and mud and tears. She looked so weak and helpless he felt a pang of something in his unbeating heart. It had been so long since he'd last known it, it took a while to figure out what it was. But as the witch closed the door behind her, he realized it was pity.

The vampire could hear her ragged breathing and uneven heartbeat through the door when he stepped up to it. He turned the knob and looked inside.

Helene attempted to climb the stairs, but her body was refusing to cooperate after the horrible beating. When she heard the door opening she quickly turned toward it. Too quickly. The sudden movement made her foot slip on the step she was standing on and she fell down, thankfully avoiding hitting her head again. She groaned in pain.

"What happened to you?" she heard a male voice ask. She had to squint to see Damon standing just outside her doorstep, the porch light illuminating him from behind so she couldn't see the surprisingly worried look on his face. The slow and irregular beat of her heart and the wounds all over, told him she didn't have long left before she died. He struggled to find the reason for his actions. Why had he gone after her? Why had he opened the door? What did he care if she lived or died? If she did, Stefan would lose a friend and the eldest Salvatore was all for his brother's misery. But all the reasons he couldn't find for the action he didn't understand, he found when her eyes met his.

He'd seen them before, starred them down on that roof top a few nights ago, but now he truly saw them. They were the color of a cloudless summer sky, so filled with life and light, even when she was dying. "You OK?" He was surprised at how soft his own voice was.

"Damon?" Helene croaked, her vocal cords stinging. "What... why..." She had difficulty finishing a single thought. Everything was mixed and mashed in her mind, a complete grey and confusing mush. She was even having trouble remembering to breathe. "Are you here to finish me off?" That gave her a jolt of pride; it had been the words she'd wanted to say and they'd come. Granted, they were a little shaky and much less snarky than she'd tried for, but at this point she was glad she was still able to speak and not just in a heap on the floor. Though she was pretty sure she wasn't too far from it.

"What happened?" he asked again, his tone more like himself.

"My psycho sister, that's what happened."

"Let me in," Damon said, pressing against the invisible barrier.

Helene laughed humorlessly. "Just go away." She straightened herself up.

"If you haven't noticed, you've lost a lot of blood. What you have left isn't enough to keep you going." When he saw her trying to stand, her knees shaking, he added, "Are you listening to me? You're gonna die soon if you don't let me help."

"Then I'll die!" she yelled back, the words slipping out before she could stop them. In her dazed state of mind, nothing really mattered anymore. She was just **so** tired, and everything hurt. She just wanted it to stop. All of it. "I imagine bleeding to death is a lot more comfortable than being killed by you. Almost like falling asleep, maybe..."

"I won't kill you," Damon rolled his eyes. "I can heal you."

"You know what?" Helene was able to stand by using the railing on the stairs. "Fine. Come on in, Damon Salvatore. Put me out of my misery." The vampire stepped over the threshold and hurried over to her. Before he could say or do anything, she spoke again. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Damon tried to reach out for her, but she moved away, over to the kitchen. She sat down on a stool. Her skin was pale and covered in a thin sheet of sweat as she could feel her fingers and toes getting cold from the blood loss.

"Has there ever been someone you would die for, to keep that person safe?"

"No," he answered, checking her pulse with his hand on her wrist. He could hear her heartbeat, but it wasn't until he felt it and her clammy skin he knew how bad it really was.

"Not even Katherine?" she asked.

Damon's face turned blank. Of course he would die for Katherine. He'd been looking for her for almost a hundred and fifty years. She was the reason he was in his home town again. She'd been on his mind constantly since the day they first met, hundreds of years ago, so how could he have forgotten about her now? He'd thought about her when he'd gone to see Elena, but Katherine had disappeared from his mind when... when he saw Malibu Barbie. Realizing it, he quickly turned the question back. "For Katherine, I would. What about you? Anyone worth that much to you?" He was trying to sound snide, but he was looking at her so intently, speaking so softly, noticing all the differences from her and Katherine.

Helene tried to laugh, but it hurt so badly it turned into a cough instead. "This..." she took a deep breath, pain running through her chest. Her eyes were starting to droop. "... might sound crazy and masochistic, but... Nina. I'd die to keep her safe."

"Hold on," he stared at her incredulously. "She was the one who did this, right?" He gestured for her wounds. "The one who tried to kill you?"

"Yes," Helene let out a sound that might have been a chuckle. "Told you it sounded crazy. She might hate me, but I don't hate her. I think Stefan is feeling the same thing I'm feeling." She added that in there for an attempt at helping the brothers mend. She doubted it would ever happen, but still felt like trying. "He still believes in you, Damon." She moved from the stool, pushing past Damon and walking back to the front door. "Since you haven't tried killing me yet, it's time for you to leave." Suddenly, her legs gave out and she fell to the ground, her head catching the bottom step of the stairs.

Damon rushed over and took her in his arms. He didn't even think about how unlike him he was acting. His heightened senses picked up on her heartbeat. It was faint, but present. He bit down on his wrist and shoved it into her mouth. It took a while before she swallowed, and when she did, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Helene opened her eyes and blinked away the bleary. "Don't worry," she heard a familiar voice say. The new blow to the head, the blood loss and exhaustion caused her mind to play tricks on her. She continued to blink and a wide smile spread across her face when she saw the man holding her. The smile was so infectious and genuine he felt his lips tug into a smile of his own.

"You're alive," the bloody blonde marveled, reaching up a hand and caressing his cheek.

"Well, technic-" he was cut off when she pressed her lips against his. He was shocked at first, but figured; why not? She was a great kisser and this would definitely piss Stefan off. He kissed her back and placed a hand on the small of her back, pressing her closer against him.

Helene granted Simon's tongue access when it grazed her bottom lip. She pulled away, breathless. She stared at Simon's soft green eyes, curly brown hair, and felt his well-toned muscles under his shirt when she pressed against him. Helene got on her feet, moaning as he peppered her neck and jaw line with kisses while he rose with her. Things getting heated, she ripped his shirt off, the buttons flying everywhere. One hit a vase and sent it crashing to the floor. No one cared.

Simon lifted her up against the wall, her hand tangled in his hair. She pulled away from his mouth and traced the tribal tattoo that went from his chest to his arm. She knew it by heart. He pulled her from the wall, moving her over to the kitchen and setting her on the granite island. Simon pulled away, only briefly, to give her some air and lifting her top off. She nibbled at his ear whilst he kissed her neck. He was standing in between her knees. She went to unbutton his jeans, looking up. She expected to see Simon's green eyes again, but Damon's blood was starting to heal her body, along with her mind, and was met by the lustful arctic blue's of Damon.

Helene stared in shock and used her powers to push him into the wall by the door when he tried to kiss her. She shrieked, "Damon? Get out!" She covered herself up as much as she could with her hands. When he only looked at her, confused by her sudden change in demeanor, she flung the door open with a flick of her wrist. With another flick, he was sent flying out the door and onto the road. As fast as her legs would take her, Helene ran to the door and slammed it shut, locking it tightly before leaning her back against it.

All her wounds were healed, the color of her skin returning. Her chest rose and fell rapidly while she tried to compose herself and the urges that would've kept things going with Damon. She was so confused she could hardly think. It was different from how she was confused before. That had been to the point where she could hardly tell up from down, but now everything was crystal clear and yet she had a hard time grasping reality.

She could've sworn it was Simon she'd kissed. She'd heard his voice, felt his touch. But when she thought about it, really thought, she remembered the differences. She'd never felt that way with Simon before. This had been passionate and consuming and dangerous, a surge of energy sprouting every time their skin touched. With Simon it had been safe and comforting, and even though they'd been in love, Simon had been the passionate one, the one to let his inhibitions go and just give into the natural instincts of lovemaking. Now, not five minutes ago, she'd both given and received passion.

Already she dreaded the thought of seeing Damon again. And Stefan. "Oh god," she muttered to herself, pushing off the door and walking into her bedroom. This was sure to get awkward.

* * *

**Please review and let me know what you thought of it. I hope I don't lose any of you by starting a slight Tyler/Helene ship. Trust me, it's just temporary and to give the story a bit more depth. This isn't a Damon/Helene fluff piece after all. I want to make it more realistic. I can't promise you'll meet E, at least not in this story/season, but you will definitely see Simon, the hallucination-hottie :P**


	5. Fights and Campagne

A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait! I was working shifts during my summer job, and I had a major writer's block up until now. No. In fact, I still have one, but I forced myself to sit down and try to get something out. I'm sorry if this isn't perfect. Please forgive me :)

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Fights and Champagne**

* * *

Tossing and turning in bed, Helene sighed and turned her pillow over to get to the cool side. Sleep was refusing to come. Every time she was about to slip away, her body would become uncomfortable in its position and she had to move, only to wake herself completely again. She tried reading, listening to music, and opening the window to get some fresh air in, but still nothing worked.

She wasn't even sure why she couldn't sleep. Not because there wasn't any possible reasons, but because there were too many. It could be the fact that Damon's blood was still coursing through her veins, how awkward their next encounter would be because she doubted he would let it go, or because she knew Caroline would find out sooner or later and she would be pissed, create drama, and Helene would possibly lose one of her new friends.

It might also have something to do with Helene seeing Simon's eyes every time she closed hers, even just to blink. The sinking feeling of loss each time she was reminded he was still dead and it had been Damon all along. Then there was also her sister to worry about. Nina almost killed her tonight, left her on the brink of death only to be saved by the most unlikely of people. Even in her dazed and hurt state, Helene had picked up her sister's remark about not being allowed to kill her. But not allowed by who? Who would need her for anything and why would her sister listen to anyone's orders?

All of this and more made Helene groan angrily into her pillow and throw the covers off her legs. It was already 3 AM according to her alarm clock and it seemed like she would never get to rest.

Placing her feet on the cold wooden floor, Helene ran a hand over her face before raking through her blonde locks. Making her way downstairs she groaned again, this time in annoyance. She'd cleaned herself up in the shower before she went to bed, but had totally forgotten about the mess in her hallway and kitchen. Her floor was full of dirt and small pools of her blood, a smear spreading from the first stairs and onto the floor from where she had fallen. Then there was the dark shirt haphazardly lying in a heap, buttons spread around the place, and the broken vase.

"Damn it!" the witch cursed and took a deep breath. This was gonna take awhile.

After retrieving a bucket of hot soapy water and a cloth, she firstly cleaned up the smears on the outside of the house. That would be hard to explain to anyone who might have noticed, like Elena and her family. Then she scrubbed the floors and staircase, collected all the broken pieces of the vase and placed them on the kitchen island. The last thing she did was pick up all the ripped off buttons and Damon's shirt. She could just throw it away she supposed, but it looked expensive and the only thing wrong with it was the buttons. So she put that on the kitchen island as well, intending to drop it off the next time she was at the Boarding House. Maybe she could manage to do that without Stefan noticing.

By the time she was all done and the place looked clean, it was six in the morning and the sun had already been up for hours. The birds were singing and people everywhere were getting ready for a peaceful Sunday. Helene was not one of those people.

* * *

It was the sound of her doorbell that woke her up. Sometime after she was finished cleaning she'd fallen asleep propped up against a wall, and she immediately felt the painful consequences of that when she stood up. Her backside was still sleeping and she rubbed her sore neck while she answered the door.

Outside stood Bonnie and Elena, way too chipper for her own mood, holding a tray of coffees. The disheveled look of their friend didn't go unnoticed by either of them.

"What happened to you?" Elena asked, holding back a laugh.

"Rough night?" Bonnie added in while she walked into the house.

"What are you doing here? What time is it?" Helene closed the door behind them and followed over to the kitchen table where they sat down.

"It's like three in the afternoon," Elena answered, handing her a steaming cup of takeout coffee.

"And I'm here to ask you to be my date for tonight," Bonnie smiled.

"Date?" Helene sipped her coffee reluctantly, forcing it down, and her face fell when Elena saw the shirt lying in the kitchen. Thankfully she didn't seem to think much of it. "What are you talking about?"

"The Lockwoods are hosting the Founder's Party," the caramel skinned teenager explained. "and since Elena's going with Stefan and Caroline is going with Damon, I'm solo. So would you please go with me? I really don't want to go alone."

"Fine," the blonde sighed, there really wasn't much fight in her right now. "It might be fun."

"Great," Elena beamed. "And it _is_ going to be fun. It starts at six. Do you have a dress? Otherwise you should hurry."

"I think I can find something in my closet," she nodded.

"Good," Bonnie and Elena stood from their seats. "We'll see you there."

"Yeah," Helene walked them to the door, passing through the kitchen. Elena stopped in the doorway and pointed to the broken vase.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, I'm just a klutz. See you guys later."

* * *

With two dresses hanging over her arms, her bag hanging over her shoulder, and walking with Stefan, Helene entered the Boarding House. The two had met up at the Grill, and needing some guy advice, Stefan had agreed to help her pick which dress to wear.

"That's so romantic it makes me want to puke," she was saying when Stefan closed the door behind them. He had told her about his and Elena's lines about the sun setting and reality kicking in. They turned the corner to the living room only to find Zack in one of Damon's chokeholds.

"What's going on?" Stefan asked cautiously, making Damon drop Zack to the ground.

"Having a family moment, Stefan," the older brother answered as Helene ran over to Zack's side, helping him sit up. "Spending some quality time." His eyes went to Helene and he smirked. "You just can't stay away can you? By the way, have you seen my shirt? I think I left it at your place last night." Stefan frowned but stayed quiet.

"I figured you might want it back," she answered, standing up and pulling his shirt out. She pushed it into his chest and helped Zack to his feet while Damon looked over his clothing.

"The buttons are all gone. You really were in a hurry."

Stefan's frown increased.

"I have those too," Helene pulled the small items out of a side pocket in her bag. "Here you go." She reached her hand out to give them to him, but when he held his out, she dropped them all on the ground. "Oops."

"You just want me to pick those up so you can stare at my ass," he stated. "Too bad I have better things to do." With that he walked away and out of the house. Once he was gone, Stefan stepped up to Zack.

"You OK?"

"No, I'm not," his nephew panted, still getting his bearings back. "And neither are you. How many more people have to die before you see that?"

"I see it, all right, Zack. I see it."

"Then why aren't you doing anything about it?" he snapped.

"I can't, Zack. I can't." Stefan looked over at Helene before returning to Zack "It would take human blood. It's the only way that I could stop him, and I can't do that."

As if to make sure Damon was gone Zack shot the front door a look before speaking. "Vervain could weaken him if he ingested it. It would help you get the upper hand."

"Vervain hasn't grown here since 1865. Damon saw to that. The little I had I gave to Elena."

"I might be able to help," Helene piped up. "I don't have much, but it should work."

"Come with me," Zack said before leading them down into the cellar. They walked down some stairs, past a room full of unused furniture and into another closed off space. There was a row of dungeon like doors, made of wood with a small window at the top, barred with iron. Zack opened the door furthest away from the entrance. Inside, under a light fixture, stood the old plant.

"You've been growing it," Stefan realized as he and Helene entered the room. He made sure to stay away from the flowers, but Helene leant toward them and inhaled the scent that was so familiar to roses.

"It's just something that's been passed down through the generations. Blood only runs so deep when you're related to vampires."

"Tell me about it," Helene scoffed.

"Damon would kill me if he knew that I had it."

"But you're telling me. Why?" Stefan questioned, stepping out of the room to stand next to him.

"Because I trust you," Zack said, looking between the two teenagers. "And you're gonna need it if you want to get rid of him."

* * *

After locking up the plants again, Stefan and Helene walked up to Stefan's room. She was wearing a tight fitted red dress while she stood in front of his full length mirror. She twirled and saw him lounging with his legs on a desk, a glass of whiskey next to him.

"Come on," she complained, stomping her foot like an indignant child. "I need your help with this."

"This really isn't my thing, Heels," he sighed, sitting up straight. "Why couldn't you have Elena or Bonnie help you? Or Caroline? I'm sure they would all love to do it."

"Because, Stefan, they're all getting ready themselves. Besides, I think I'm gonna stay away from Caroline for a while. So suck it up." She gestured for her dress. "Sexy newcomer, or..." she picked up a black satin cocktail dress with a white sash to tie around the waist. "Cute and responsible?"

"Definitely Sexy Newcomer," Damon said as he sauntered into the room only wearing black jeans.

"Cute and responsible it is then," she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest when she noticed him staring at her body.

"Don't bother, witchy. I saw plenty last night." He turned to his brother who was sending Helene a questioning look. "Do they still wear ties to this thing?" He then proceeded to rummage through Stefan's closet to find his ties.

Stefan sighed and started polishing his shoes while Helene disappeared to change into normal clothes. "Why are you even going?"

"Well it's only fitting. We were at the very first one, remember?"

"I think it's better if we don't draw attention to ourselves."

"So you should stay here," Damon told him, looking at him through the mirror. "I'll see to it that Elena and Helene have a good time." Stefan took a sip of his drink, something Damon noticed. "My goodness, I've driven you to drink."

"Who can blame him?" Helene asked, walking back into the room wearing jeans and a top. "It's the only way to stand your presence. I honestly don't know how Caroline does it. Oh, that's right, you compel her to."

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it yesterday," he wagged his eyebrows as he smirked.

"I threw you out of the house, remember?" Helene pointed out before walking over to lean on the desk next to where Stefan was sitting.

"What's going on with you two?" the younger Salvatore eyed them both suspiciously.

"Nothing," she hurriedly answered before Damon could say anything. "I have to go. I'll explain later." Before she left, Helene made sure to send Damon a look that told him to keep his mouth shut.

* * *

By ten past six that night, the whole town seemed to be filing into the Lockwood mansion, the mayor and his wife and son standing by the open doors and greeting everyone.

Caroline and Damon were already inside, Sheriff Forbes talking to her daughter. Elena and Stefan were just in front of Helene and Bonnie. They entered the house by invitation of Mayor Lockwood and the two girls moved forward, smiling at the hosts.

"I was hoping you'd show up," Tyler greeted. "You look... beautiful."

"If you were hoping I'd show, why didn't you ask me to come?" Helene inquired.

Bonnie, who had already greeted the Lockwoods properly, smiled knowingly at Helene and Tyler before saying, "I'm just gonna go inside." With a chuckle she tried to hide behind her hand, Bonnie disappeared into the crowd.

"Would you have said yes if I did?" the footballer asked the blonde who was challenging him. "You never came to see me after the game yesterday."

"I never said I would," she defended. "And I guess we'll never know if I would've said yes to you."

Tyler smiled at her teasing, loving it just as much as she did. They starred at each other for a while, people passing them into the house. The sound of someone clearing their throat came from their side and they turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood looking at them expectantly.

"Sorry," Helene said, reaching out a hand and shaking theirs. "I'm Helene."

"You're the new girl in town right?" Carol asked. "The one who moved into the Jensen house."

"That's me. You have a lovely home, Mrs. Lockwood."

"Please," she said. "Call me Carol. And this is my husband, Richard."

"Nice to meet you," the mayor smiled.

"So," Tyler said to get Helene's attention back. When she turned she found him offering his arm. "Since you're here, would you like to be my date?"

"Sorry, quarterback," she smiled that teasing smile again. "You're a little late. Bonnie's my date and I'm not in the habit of cheating." When his face fell and looked disappointed, she leaned over and whispered, "But I'll be sure to save you a dance." She then kissed him quickly on the cheek and hurried inside, leaving Tyler Lockwood grinning like an idiot.

* * *

Night fell quickly, making the mansion look even bigger with candles and lights everywhere. The open bar and the waiters carrying around trays of champagne, made the party a huge success. Apparently, Helene learned from Bonnie while they were sitting at a table by the dance floor, the Founder's Party was the kickoff to many other social Founder's events arranged throughout the year, leading up to Founder's Day. As the descendants of the original settlers, both Caroline and Elena were tied up in it.

Deciding to check out the display of old items from the founding families, Helene left Bonnie by the table, only to find Elena already in the display room, gazing sadly at a pair of wedding rings.

"Hey," the blonde said softly to alert her of her presence.

"Hey," she replied, hardly looking up.

Stefan entered the room and found them staring at the rings. Touching her back, he asked Elena, "Your parents?"

"There's a lot of history here," she sighed, nodding. Then she moved a little and read from an old piece of paper. "_The founding families in Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural founder's council celebration. _Wow, look, it's the original guest registry. Look at all these familiar names: Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood..." She stopped when she noticed one particular name. "Is that... Damon Salvatore? And, look, Stefan Salvatore."

"The original Salvatore brothers," Damon said as he walked up the three, Caroline at his side. "Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually."

"Yeah," Helene agreed, nodding. "And it's so _old_. Ancient, almost."

Damon did not miss the hidden insult. Stefan stood silently next to Elena and eyed the two suspiciously. Helene had yet to explain things between them. Damon met Helene's eyes cockily and smirked. "Some things age like fine wine."

"Yes, but fine wine goes sour if it's not cared for and maintained properly."

"And you think you know how to care for fine wine?" Damon asked and Caroline bristled a little at his side, catching onto the hidden meanings.

Helene smirked, matching Damon. "You have no idea how good I am with wine and other kinds of alcohol." Just then, Tyler stepped into view outside the door. "Excuse me, I promised Lockwood a dance."

The four remaining people looked after her as she walked away, Damon smiling and Stefan frowning. Caroline just looked pissed because they hadn't even tried to hide their flirting.

* * *

Soft music was playing in the backyard under the lights that hung over the small dance floor. Somehow, Caroline had gotten Stefan to dance with her and they were talking about something, but Helene was too wrapped up in her own dancing partner to notice.

"I was afraid you lied to me earlier," Tyler admitted while he swayed with her to the music. "I thought you were just me teasing. Again."

"How could I _not_ dance with you?" she smiled. "You look too dapper in that blue suit of yours to resist." Even though the lights above were dimmed softly, she could've sworn he blushed. "All though," she added in an attempt at keeping his cockiness down. "I sorta wish you were a better dancer."

"Yeah..." he chuckled. "What can I say? I'm a footballer, not a ballet dancer."

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to see you in a leotard." They burst out laughing, earning looks from the people around them. The song stopped then and people left the floor only to be replaced my new guests and another song. When Tyler started to dance again, Helene pulled away. "Sorry, Lockwood. I promised you one dance. Why don't you go dance with one of the cheerleaders? I'm sure they'd be thrilled." Then she slipped out of his grip and went to go inside, but changed direction when she saw Stefan and Caroline at the outside bar, drinking champagne.

"You two looked cozy," the cheerleader captain commented, sipping her champagne flute.

"He's sweet," Helene said, looking over her shoulder and smiling when she saw him doing the same by a group of his own friends. Of course his gang started laughing and wolf-whistling at her.

"Too bad he can't dance worth a damn." Damon came walking with Elena. "It's a miracle he didn't step on your feet."

"He's not _that_ bad."

"Actually," Caroline said, taking her place by his side. "He is."

"At least he's not afraid to try," Helene looked pointedly at Damon. "I haven't seen you dance."

"You haven't asked," he smirked.

"Okay," Caroline tugged her boyfriend back a step to create more distance between him and Helene. "What is up with you two?"

"Nothing," the witch said.

"No," Stefan stepped in, the frown back on his face again. "You said you would explain. This seems like a good a time as any."

"Trust me," Helene told him. "It's not. And it _is_ nothing."

"She's right," Damon agreed.

"I am?"

"Yeah. We kissed, no big deal." A unison gasp came from Elena and Caroline while Stefan's eyes went wide.

"That's not what it sounds like," she put her hands out in defense, trying to control the damage. But, of course, Damon wouldn't let her off that easy.

"Okay, we made out. It was great." This earned two new gasps and a glare from the blonde in question.

"Again," she tried, "Really not the way it sounds."

"Fine," Damon sighed heavily and hung his head like it was a big burden. Then he looked at her again. "We almost had sex in her kitchen."

Having reached her limit, Caroline pushed Damon out of the way and slapped Helene across the cheek, snapping her head to the side.

"All right," Helene said, a red mark forming on her face. "I deserved that." When she saw Caroline lifting her hand to slap her again, she caught her by the wrist. "I'm not gonna lie. Things got heated last night, but like I said, it really wasn't the way it sounds."

"Then explain," Elena pushed, obviously mad she would do something like that to Caroline.

_Because I was almost beaten to a pulp and started hallucinating_, did not seem like a credible answer. Even when it was the truth. There was no way any lie would placate everyone, so she opted to please most of them.

"I was high," she finally answered, letting go of Caroline's hand and putting on a guilty face.

"High?" Elena asked in disbelief. Helene knew she would react badly to that, considering her dispute with her brother, but it was better than telling her the truth.

"Yeah..." she raised her eyes to meet everyone's before dropping them to the floor and fidgeting with her nails. "I... I had some drugs left from my wild period last year. It was the last I had left. I swear, I'm done with it."

"You were hallucinating?" Caroline seemed skeptical, but her tone made Helene confident she could sway her.

"Yes. And I'm so sorry, Caroline." Tears started forming in her eyes as she talked. "It's just that my sister called and we had a fight. I got so angry and I wasn't thinking straight. I took the pills and I was seeing my dead ex. I had no idea it was Damon, I swear." Getting more and more hysteric, she started sobbing and Caroline's doubts vanished along with her anger.

"It's okay," she said, pulling her into a hug and rubbing her back. "I didn't know. I am so sorry for hitting you." Elena joined in on the hug and they stayed like that for a minute until Helene calmed down. "Here," Caroline offered her a handkerchief. "Can I get you anything?"

"Something to drink would be good," she sniffed. Caroline nodded and went to find some soda. "Elena, would you mind going with her? I have someone else to apologize to." Elena frowned but understood when she saw Helene nodding at Damon. With a quick smile at Stefan she followed her friend inside. As soon as the two girls were out of sight, Helene took a deep breath and totally lost any sign of remorse or sadness. "Great," she said sarcastically, wiping away her fake tears. "Now I have to fix my makeup. You just couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you?"

"Wait, hold on," Stefan held up a hand, thoroughly confused. "That was just an act?"

"I know. I'm awesome, right?"

"Why did you lie to us?" he demanded. "You even got Caroline to apologize for her actions."

"It seemed better than telling them-" she lowered her voice. "-my vampire sister almost killed me."

"What?"

"Yeah. Do you really want me to tell Elena that? 'Cause I could, right now. Hold on, I'll be right back." She started for the house, but Stefan grabbed her arm to stop her. "That's what I thought."

"You really didn't know it was me?" Damon questioned. "You had no idea?"

"Not until your blood kicked in and I threw you out."

"His blood?" Stefan repeated before turning to his brother. "Your blood?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Yes, Stefan. My blood. She was dying, and if anyone is going to kill Helene, it's gonna be me."

"Keep telling yourself that," Helene patted him on the shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have my original date to find. Have a nice night."

* * *

After going to the bathroom and fixing her makeup, Helene found Bonnie in the dining room by herself, watching Carol Lockwood complaining to a waiter about the lack of lit candles in the room.

"What ya doin'?" she asked.

"I was just talking to Elena. She and Stefan had a fight."

"Really? Let me guess, Damon was involved?"

"How'd you know?"

"He seems to be the centre of all drama."

Bonnie nodded and stayed quiet, but her eyes found a candle on the table. She seemed to concentrate before giving up when nothing happened, sighing as if telling herself she was being silly. Helene smiled.

"Try again," she urged, nudging her forward. "Just focus."

She was apprehensive at first but gave in and bent slightly to glare at the candle. Again nothing happened. "This is stupid," she said, turning back to Helene. "There's no way I can be a witch."

"You sure about that?" She was smiling so widely Bonnie turned back around curiously, finding every candle lit and at full blaze. "Maybe you should talk to your Grams again."

* * *

After leaving the party with Bonnie, who was too confused to have any more fun for the night, Helene returned home. She had stood in the backyard and watched while Damon was vervained through Caroline. The whole time she fought her instinct to run up and kill him for hurting her friend. But she knew Stefan needed to handle this, alone.

While she was opening a can of Coke, since she had never gotten it from Caroline, her phone rang in her purse. Fishing it out, she saw Stefan calling.

"Hey, how'd it go?" she asked in greeting.

"Fine," he sighed, sounding tired. "We locked him up in the basement with the vervain, but I'll need to keep an eye on him. At least until he starts drying out."

"God," Helene laughed without much mirth. "Have you ever thought about how weird our conversations tend to be? I mean, we're talking about starving your brother."

"You want out?" She caught the slight hint of disappointment in his voice. "Because, you could. I can handle this alone."

"Like you have always done?" Helene relocated to the sofa, brining her soda with her. "No, Stef, that time is over. You're my friend and we're in this together. Just tell me what to do."

"I can't leave him alone, but I need to hunt. Zack is saying he'll watch after him, but if he gets out..."

"He won't be able to defend himself," she finished for him. "I'll come over and keep things safe." After getting a thanks, she asked, "How's Caroline? She must be terrified."

"I compelled her to forget he attacked her, but you know how little affect I have. Maybe you and Elena can help her through it."

"Speaking of, how are things between you two? Bonnie said you had a fight."

"There's just so many secrets. So many things I _want_ to tell her, but I can't."

"Elena's strong, Stefan," Helene replied, feeling bad for the couple. This couldn't be easy for them. "Maybe telling her wouldn't be so bad."

"Maybe..." He didn't sound convinced. "I have to go, see you tomorrow?"

"Sure, good night."

"Night."

Sighing, she hung up and dropped the phone on the seat next to her. A stray thought of Nina crossed her mind and she closed her eyes, leaning her head back. This was really not what she hoped to find in Mystic Falls. Hopefully now that Damon was under lock and key, things would get better.

* * *

**Of course, we all know it's only going to get worse. Isn't it both cool and a little bit scary how Helene can lie so well? It's definitely going to cause problems later on, I assure you.**

**What did you think of this chapter? Good, bad? Let me know :)**


	6. Sexy Suds

**Chapter 6**

**Sexy Suds**

* * *

Everything was quiet at the Lockwood mansion this early in the morning. The sun was seeping through cracks in the curtains and illuminating the empty halls, dust particles dancing in the beams.

Soft footsteps broke the silence, trying to get out of the house as discretely as possible. Another set of feet, heavier than the first, shuffled over a carpet. One of these feet caught a snag in the rug and almost tripped the owner. The light-footed person tried to hold back a laugh, but it escaped through her nose and sounded down to where Mrs. Lockwood was standing with her arms crossed at the bottom of the stairs.

A few seconds passed before Helene emerged at the top of the staircase, holding her shoes in her hands along with her schoolbag. Her smile fell the moment she saw the mayor's wife standing there. She froze. Then Tyler came up next to her and followed her line of sight. He visibly swallowed.

"Good morning, Miss Smith," Carol greeted coolly, not looking too pleased at the sight before her. She had realized there was something between her son and this new girl, but this was not what she had in mind when they had met. Helene had seemed so sweet at the Founder's Party three days ago, not like the sort of person to sneak out of a boy's house in the morning.

"Good morning, Mrs. Lockwood," the blonde replied lamely, still rooted to her spot on the second floor. She had really hoped to get out without being seen. This would just stir up drama. Or more correctly, commitment.

"Mom," Tyler tried to smile but it died under his mother's glare. "We were just heading to school."

"Good," she nodded curtly and started to walk away, but stopped and added, "At least this is better than trying to sneak her out through the window. Like you did with that Donovan girl."

The two teenagers waited until she disappeared into another part of the house before they even dared descend the stairs. At the bottom, Helene quickly put her shoes on and exited the door, Tyler following suit.

* * *

"That was the most awkward thing I have ever experienced," Helene exclaimed as Tyler drove them to school. Usually, parents loved her. She went to great lengths for them to at least like her. But this... This had ruined everything.

"It wasn't that bad," Tyler tried to smooth over. "Trust me, Mom could do a lot worse."

"Did you _see_ the death glare she sent me? That's it. I'm screwed. I have to move out of town. I can't live here when the mayor's wife thinks I'm the biggest tramp in the world."

"She doesn't think you're a tramp." He found himself smiling at her rambling. "She just thinks you're a girl with bad morals for having sex with her son without being in a relationship."

"Yeah," Helene nodded sarcastically. "'Cause that is so much better."

"I'm kidding," he laughed before turning into the school parking lot. Just as he was getting out, Helene reached over and pulled him inside again. Thinking she wanted a kiss, he leaned forward, only to be stopped by her finger pressed firmly against his lips.

"Here's the deal, Lockwood," she said, just at firm as her finger. "If we're gonna keep doing this, we need some rules. Number one: We are not, I repeat, _not_, dating. Second: No telling friends about what we do. And third: No public signs of affection. Got all that?" She removed her finger so he could speak.

"Whatever you say, Heels."

She rolled her eyes before exiting the car. That nickname had spread across the entire school faster than she'd expected.

* * *

After an uneventful day of learning, where the only thing interesting was finding out about the Sexy Suds carwash that was going down tomorrow, Helene entered the Boarding House to find Stefan in the living room with Zack.

"Helene," the vampire smiled. "Thanks for coming."

"Is he awake?" she asked while setting her bag and jacket down by the door. She had been here every day since the day after the party, and had lied to Elena several times when she had asked about where Stefan was, saying she had no idea what he was doing.

"Yeah. He's weak, but don't go down there unless you have to. He just tried to kill Zack." He glanced at the basement door before putting on his jacket. "I have to go. I said I'd meet Elena at the Grill after school and I'm already late."

"Probably a good idea," Helene nodded, dropping down on the old couch. "She didn't seem too thrilled when she saw you earlier."

He agreed before leaving them to look after Damon.

* * *

Before long, the blonde witch was bored out of her mind. Sitting on the couch reading old books that threatened to fall apart only amused her for a limited amount of time. The lack of a television didn't help either. Thankfully, she remembered that she was in fact a witch. A damn good one too. If there wasn't anything to entertain her, she would have to do so herself.

She started by flicking both her hands to opposite sides while she sat on the couch, and the dark and heavy curtains on the opposite side of the room opened, letting in some much needed light. Then she faced her palm toward the window and it frosted over. She smiled to herself while she guided her finger in the air and drew stickmen on the glass. With a little bit of concentration, the figures started playing out an epic battle of war. Thin limbs broke and flew off. Explosions rattled the pane of glass. War cries sounded as two stickmen went into single combat with their swords raised high.

A sharp intake of breath made Helene's head snap to the side. Zack was standing in the doorway, holding two plates of chicken and rice, his mouth agape as he stared at the stickwar still being fought on the foggy window. The sun was setting quickly beyond it, making it even easier to see.

"Umm... " Helene uttered, not entirely sure what to say. There was no point in trying to play it off as a trick of the light, or pure imagination. He had clearly seen, and probably heard, it. "There really isn't anything I can say to convince you that isn't real, is it?"

"No," Zack shook his head, still fascinated by the sight. "How- how are you doing that?" He finally managed to tear his eyes away and look at her.

"Well," she shrugged. "Since you know about vampires, I might as well tell you. I'm a witch." The few times in her life that she'd admitted that to people who were "civilian", she had been met with blank stares from those who thought she was a nut job, or laughs from those who thought she was joking. Zack, of course, did not count as a civilian and he only blinked before giving her a slight smile.

"I made dinner," he said and he seemed to immediately realize how utterly lame that was compared to her statement. Slowly, he sat down and offered her a plate and some silverware.

"Thanks," she replied, totally fine with his calm acceptance. "I'm starving."

They spent dinner with Helene showing off some of her tricks, like lighting candles with her mind, floating things around the room, and making the hardwood floor feel like sand between their toes. Zack went to clean the dishes and head home to his little keeper's house, and Helene was once again alone and with nothing to occupy her time. Since it was getting late and Stefan would probably be home soon, she gave into the need that had been there all night. To see Damon.

* * *

The basement was dark and dank, looking exactly like a dungeon. The only light came from a lamp over head. She could hear strained breathing as soon as she entered the basement, the sound echoing off the walls and old furniture that stood in forgotten stacks.

"What are you doing down here, Blondie?" Damon's voice came from one of the cells. He sounded broken and in pain, but Helene refused to feel sorry for him. "Come to set me free?"

"No," she answered simply, stepping up to the opening in the door and looking at him through the iron bars. Her resolute decision to not show any sympathy faltered when she saw how truly defeated he looked. She blinked back her instinctual need to help others, and reminded herself this was Damon Salvatore; Manipulator. Killer. Vampire.

"Then what do-" he heaved for a breath of air. He might not need oxygen to breathe, but air to speak was essential. "- you want?" He was leaning his side against the wall, his eyes drooping and grey skin starting to develop small cracks.

"Nothing," she replied before smiling widely. "I was just gloating."

"Bitch," he rasped out.

"Asshole." There was a silence while Helene studied him. It was almost hard to believe this was the Damon she knew. This one was defeated and weak and broken. He was usually so confident and mean and selfish. In a moment of her own weakness, Helene said, "I could help you."

"How? You already said... you weren't letting me out."

"Yes," she nodded. "But I can take your pain away."

A light fired up in his eyes and he used the small amount of energy he had to blur to the opening. He tried to grab her, but she backed away too fast and he gripped the bars instead. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not." She stepped forward again and gestured with her fingers. "Give me your hand." When he scowled at her, she returned the gesture. "I'm not going to stick my hand in there, Damon. Give me your hand."

"Why are you doing this?" he asked after sliding his right hand through the bars, holding on tight with the other so his knees wouldn't give in. Helene touched her fingertips to his and almost shuddered at the coldness.

"Because I'm a decent human being," she said, closing her eyes and concentrating hard. Her brow creased while she worked her magic, looking like it pained her. Damon felt the ache in his joints cease, before the feeling of warmth spread through his body and eliminated the agonizing pain. He sighed in relief."And because you saved my life once," she continued after opening her eyes and removing her fingers. "and I owed you. Now we're even."

She started walking out of the basement, but Damon said, "I doubt Stefan will like this much. He enjoys seeing me in pain after all I've done to him."

Helene turned and gave him a sad smile. "You really don't know your brother anymore, do you?"

Just as she rounded the corner and started up the stairs so she'd be out of there before Stefan came home, she thought she heard a "thank you," but brushed it off as imagination. This was Damon after all.

The witch had just barely closed the door to the basement when her mouth dried out and her skin began to itch. She licked at her lips, which were already starting to chap. When she blinked, her eyes stung like crazy and she immediately regretted helping the vampire.

Stumbling slightly, she made her way over to the couch in the living room, all her joints and muscles screaming for her to stop. She lay down and rested her head against a pillow. Looking down at her hands, she saw how pale she had grown and her fingers and toes were freezing. She wetted her lips once more before her eyes slowly fell shut.

Five minutes later, Stefan arrived home after a romantic dinner with Elena. He found Helene panting with her eyes closed on his couch, looking sickly.

"Helene?" He rushed over and shook her awake. Just opening her eyes seemed to be a big effort.

"Stef," rasped out, her throat as dry as a desert. The action stung, but she continued. "Good, you're home."

"What's wrong? What happened?" Stefan sat down next to her, worry written all over his face. When he reached his hand out and touched her forehead, she weakly swatted him away.

"Nothing." She coughed and cleared her throat, wincing. "Could you... get me some... water?"

The vampire blurred off at full speed, only being gone for two seconds before returning with a glass of fresh water. Helene shuffled up to a sitting position slowly and brought the glass to her lips. She closed her eyes in sweet relief as it travelled down her throat.

"What happened?" Stefan asked again, looking her over and trying to understand what could possibly have done this to her.

"I did a spell," she explained, her voice stronger after getting something to drink. "To take Damon's pain away. Let's just say it has a side effect. I get his pain. Thankfully, he's a vampire so I only get some of his afflictions. If he was human... I would need a hospital."

"Why would you do this?" he asked, watching her take another drink of water.

"Because I owed him. Now I don't. And this way, he's only drying out without it being torture."

"So you torture yourself instead? Heels, this is crazy."

"I'll be fine." She shook her head and tried to stand up, only to go dizzy and lose her balance. Stefan caught her before she could fall, but the glass went tumbling to the floor and smashing into pieces. "This'll be over in a couple hours," she continued to try and calm him down. "I just need to get home." She made to stand up, but he held her back.

"No way." He stood up and wrapped his arm around her waist. "You're staying here." Without giving her a chance to answer, he picked her up bridal style and carried her up into one of the unused bedrooms. He laid her down gently and helped her with the covers. "My room's right next door," he told her as he watched her eyes drift shut. "Just yell if you need anything."

Helene nodded slightly, already falling asleep.

* * *

The day of the Sexy Suds carwash fundraiser that Caroline was hosting, was thankfully warm and lit by a bright sun without interruption from white puffy clouds.

By the time Helene arrived, after stopping off at home to change her clothes and get some food, something the Salvatore residence was in lack of unless Zack was around, the washing of cars was already well on the way. Bikini clad girls and bare-chested boys were getting soaking wet while "helping the community". In truth, Bonnie had told her yesterday, they were actually helping Caroline in the Miss Mystic Falls competition. Charity was a big plus for the contestants apparently.

The aspiring philanthropist was sitting under a striped canopy while handling the money that was coming in. Stefan and Elena were engrossed in each other as they got yelled at by Caroline for not being sexy. Elena tried to take her sweater off, and failed miserably at it. Helene stifled a laugh and walked over to the canopy and Caroline.

"Finally," the girl exclaimed. "I was starting to think you bailed. You're late."

"I know. Sorry."

Helene put her bag away and removed her shorts and tank top to reveal a navy colored bikini that made her eyes even more blue. But it was obvious the guys weren't looking at her optical orbs when they let out a stream of wolf whistles. Surprisingly enough, Tyler didn't join in the raucous that almost the entire football team made. Instead he hushed them and told them to "stop drooling."  
A slight tinge of disappointment crossed Helene's mind. But it disappeared when Tyler came walking over to her, grabbed her by the waist and pressed his lips against hers. The whistling stopped immediately and everyone around gawked at them. Even the news reporter Logan Fell that was broadcasting about the event.

Pulling away, Tyler smiled and said, "You look beautiful."

The blonde eyed him weirdly for a second. "I thought we agreed on a certain set of rules."

"Screw the rules. I want the whole town to know you're mine."

"Dial down the possessiveness, Lockwood." When his face fell, thinking she was rejecting him, she added, "But fine. Screw the rules. I was never able to follow those kinds of things anyway."

He grinned and kissed her again before walking back to his friends, earning pats on the back from some of them.

"Well, that didn't take long," Caroline dropped a bucket of soap water down beside her and handed her a dry yellow sponge. "I thought you were playing hard to get."

"Changed my mind," Helene shrugged and wetted the sponge, wringing out some access water.

"Whatever," the cheer captain replied. Then her eyes caught onto a shape on Helene's hip and she gasped. "Heels! You have a tattoo!"

She looked down at the three black and red circles that made up a triangle with round edges. It was 2 inches big on all sides and was placed so the empty middle of the triangle was over her hipbone. The Sanguis family tattoo.

"It's a family tradition," Helene responded with a smile. "Every girl on my mother's side gets it when they turn eighteen."

"That is so cool," Caroline gushed. "My mom would never let me get one."

The witch considered saying her mother wasn't around to tell her no, but decided against it. Only she would've found the morbid joke amusing. Caroline would've paled and stuttered an apology.

A new car pulled up to the school parking lot and Helene headed over after parting with the other blonde, who returned to her seat under the canopy.

* * *

After washing four cars and only managing to keep her hair somewhat dry, Helene walked over to Stefan who was giving a black SUV a sponge bath.  
When he noticed her, he gave a small smile. "Hey. How you feeling?"

"Fine. Like I told you I would be."

"I still don't get why you did it."

"I hate being in someone's debt. It means they can make me do something I don't like. This way, he has no power over me." The vampire nodded and continued washing the car, big pools of water collecting on the asphalt.

"Wanna give me a hand?"

"Sorry, Stef," she said, leaning against the grill of the SUV. "I'm on a break."

Across the lot, Tiki, a cheerleader known for her bitchiness, got drenched by a wild water hose. Helene noticed Bonnie standing nearby, staring at the attacking water snake while holding back a smile. She made a note in the back of her mind, but shrugged it off, allowing herself to be entertained by the scene of Tiki screaming.

Not half an hour later, the blonde witch sees Tiki handing Bonnie a broom. They exchange some words before Tiki leaves. Suddenly, a stream of water running along the ground catches fire and burns all the way to a car, setting it ablaze. People start screaming and Tiki yells out ,"My car!"

Fed up with Bonnie's reckless power use, Helene grabs Stefan's arm and pushes him in her direction. "Stop her."

"How?"

"She's in a trance. Shake her out of it. I need to stop this."

Stefan runs over and grabs a hold of Bonnie's shoulders, stopping her assault and leaving her dazed. Meanwhile, Helene points her eyes to the burning inferno of a car and takes a deep breath. Another witch's spell was always harder to stop, but Bonnie's magic was nothing compared to hers. But still she could feel the Bennett power Bonnie might one day possess.

* * *

Tyler dropped her off at home after the car wash. No one knew where Caroline had suddenly disappeared to during the whole thing, and Bonnie was freaked out to say the least. The burning of Tiki's car had worried everyone there, but not as much as she and Helene. Because of it, the Sanguis witch promised herself she would find some way to help Bonnie with her newly found abilities. That meant finding a secluded place to practice so they wouldn't get noticed.

Her cell phone Helene had left at home to keep from getting wet, and was now telling her she had a new message. She pressed a button and held the receiver up to her ear.

"Helene!" came the terrified voice of Carl, the friend she had visited in Ohio before driving to Mystic Falls. "They're here! Oh god!" The sound of a door being ripped off its hinges. "Leave me alone!" A door slammed shut and was locked, probably him locking himself in another room. "Helene! Please! They're coming! They're gonna kill me! Please!" The second door slammed open and Carl screamed, the pure fear making Helene's stomach drop and goose bumps rise. Chanting travelled over the line, a cacophony of dark voices in perfect unison. The phone fell to the floor with a loud and static filled thump. "No! Please! Hele-!" Then the connection was lost and the message ended.

Helene hardly heard the soft female voice instructing her how to save the call and saying she had no new messages left.  
It was all she could do not to gather in a fetal position on the floor. The only thing keeping her up was pure willpower, because her knees had stopped working the second she'd heard the chanting. There was no hope for him now.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep, steadying breath and clutched the cell in her hand. _Another one_, she thought despairingly. _Too many_.

Only one name kept repeating in her head, yelling at her to ask for help. A part of her wanted to refuse, another wanted to call and beg for assistance, a third part just wanted to run. Again. Like she always did. No, she decided. She was done running. She would just have to suck it up and take her chances, however small they may be.

* * *

It took two minutes before Nina showed up. Helene was waiting for her on the porch swing. Anger filled her for a short moment when she saw her sister, remembering all too well what had happened last time they were together. But this was more important than pride. Than their dispute. Than her.

And that was the reason Nina was here, because she knew that too.

"They got Carl," Helene stated, straight to the point and with a tone that didn't give away any emotion she might be feeling.

"Carl?" the older sister asked, sitting down next to her on the swing, actually acting civilized for once.

"The guy above our apartment in Ohio."

"The fat guy without hair?"

"No. The skinny guy with glasses."

"The one who always lost his keys," Nina remembered. "When?"

"Two hours ago. He called me. Made sure I knew."

"Did he know where you are?"

"Yeah. Which means they know too now." Helene shifted in her seat to look at her only remaining family. The thought almost made her laugh.

"What are we gonna do?" Their eyes met. The hostility from recent times replaced by mutual understanding and determination. "Honestly, I'm getting tired of running. Can't they take a hint? We're just gonna keep killing them until they give up."

"They'll never give up, remember? They're always gonna keep sending more." She paused and stared at the floorboards of her front porch. They were brown. Dirty. Probably hadn't been cleaned in ages. "This has to stop. I can't live like this. Too many people have died because of us."

"The only way to stop them is by killing them all." Nina stood up and crossed her arms over her chest before facing her sibling. The soft glow of the porch light made the hand-shaped scar almost vanish. "We will never be able to do that. They're too many, too scattered. There's no way."

"You know they'll be here soon. And just because you're already dead, doesn't mean they won't kill you again."

The vampire sighed and ran a hand through her dark locks. "I know." Her brown eyes met blue ones and they shared a silent agreement. They might not have a plan, and no idea what to actually do, but at least they had that; an unspoken promise between two sisters to bury the proverbial hatchet, if only for a short time.

* * *

**Here's a link to the image of Helene's tattoo.**

www . imgur JF3AH (just add .com after imgur and a slash after that, and remove the spaces. Stupid FFnet)

** Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"This place doesn't even have a Starbucks, Helene!" Nina was saying while sitting on her younger sister's porch swing. After discussing their "family affairs" and deciding to play nice for now, she had stuck around to chat, something that would've been a bad joke a day ago.  
Helene exited her house, bringing with her two mugs of hot chocolate and a blanket. She sat down next to the female vampire and wrapped herself into the warm blanket to protect her from the chilly October air. After handing a mug to Nina, she entwined her hands around her own hot beverage. "That's how small and insignificant this town is."

Helene was surprised at herself when she bristled a little. She hadn't been here long, and it was nothing like the boring place she had hoped it to be, but the feeling of home was quickly growing.  
"I for one think it's cute," she answered with a shrug, taking a sip off the white mug with a handlebar moustache print.

"It's a town," Nina countered. "How can it be cute?"

"It just is."

They stayed silent for a while, sipping their chocolate. Not that any of them would ever admit it, but they were both secretly enjoying the sisterly truce. Helene gently rocked the swing with her toe against the floorboards.

"I wonder what this place looked like when our ancestors came here," the older smith sister mused, narrowing her eyes at the dark evening, as if trying to conjure up a scene from that time. "Remember when I told you I could teach you about our family history?"

"Yeah..." Helene nodded suspiciously. "But I figured it was just a lie so I wouldn't kill you."

"It was. At the time. Do you still want to know?"

"Of course I do and you know it."

Nina gave a rare smile that stretched her scar. "The first Sanguis came here almost a thousand years ago, if you can believe it. Travelled over with a bunch of other Europeans hoping for some kind of safe haven. Free of diseases and such."

"A thousand years?" Helene repeated disbelievingly. "Are you sure? That sounds a little too... old."

Her sister laughed. "I know. But I swear, I'm not lying. Mom used to tell me stories, things that are written down in the grimoires."

"I've never been able to open them..." Helene stared down into her cup of steaming chocolate, refusing to meet her kinwoman's eyes. "Not since Mom died. It always felt wrong, knowing she would read them to us."

"It's a wonder one of us hasn't snapped sooner. Some of those things are _not_ good bedtime stories."

With a shared chuckle they fell quiet again for a few seconds.

"I miss her," the younger one finally admitted. They had never talked about their mother's death, not really. Nina had just arranged the funeral before packing all their stuff up and moving.

"Me too."

The sudden realization that her sister wasn't just a bloodthirsty monster almost knocked Helene off her seat. Shame made her look away from her sisters eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but for the life of her she couldn't find any words. There was nothing to be said.

The sound of Elena's car arriving next door caught both the Smith's attention. They turned around in the swing and saw her storming into the house. Two seconds later a blur sped by and jumped in Elena's open bedroom window.

"Was that Stefan?" Helene asked with a furrowed brow. Inside she was praying it wasn't Damon who had come to hurt her friend.

"Yes, it was," Nina replied before getting up and setting her mug down on the railing. "And to avoid any possible drama, I'm gonna head out."

Helene only nodded in response, staring worriedly at the window across the lawn. Then she remembered something. "Nina?"

"Yeah?" Nina stopped by the porch steps.

"Where do you live?"

"Why? Are you inviting me to stay here?" The smirk on her face revealed the joke.

"No," the blonde replied resolutely, communicating with an upward tug of her lips that she'd gotten the jest. "I'm just curious."

"Don't worry about it, sis. I'll see you later. Remember to lock your doors."

Helene snorted in amusement and nodded. "I will."  
Then Nina was gone.

Not a minute after he'd shown up did Stefan jump out of his girlfriend's window. Catching Helene's eyes across the yard, he walked over to her, looking depleted and miserable.

"What happened?" she asked without pretense, throwing a free piece of blanket over his shoulders when he sat down next to her. It was more for comfort than anything else.

"She knows," was all he said before sighing and leaning his elbows on his knees, running his hands over his face.

"How much?" Placing a hand on his back, Helene rubbed soothing circles over his spine.

"Everything."

The witch nodded to herself. "I'm guessing she didn't take it well."

"She's afraid if me, Heels. The look in her eyes when I admitted it..."

"Hey," she said softly, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "She'll come around, it's just a lot to take in. Give her some time."

Stefan turned and faced her, breaking her heart when she saw how hurt and desperate he looked. "What if she doesn't come around?"

"She will, trust me. She's crazy about you. And that's exactly what she needs the time alone for, to figure out just how much she loves you."

He nodded in an unconvinced fashion before his phone rang in his pocket. "Hello?"

"_I want my ring_," Damon's voice came over the line, sounding annoyed. Stefan shared a look with Helene before putting it on speaker, giving her a sign to stay quiet.

"Where are you?" Stefan asked.

"_I'm at the Sizzler. I had the buffet. Where's my ring_?"

"I don't have it. Where are you? What have you done?"

"_No, what have **you** done? You're the one that locked me in the basement and starved me, so whatever I've done, whoever I've sucked dry, is on you, buddy_."

"You're being careless," Stefan warned, shaking his head at Helene's confused expression. "How many more animal attacks is this town gonna believe, huh?"

"_I know how to cover my tracks, Stefan. Where's my ring?_"

"I gave it to Zach to hide. Probably shouldn't have killed him." Helene tucked at his sleeve to stare at him in shock, obviously she was having problems keeping quiet.

"_Ah, you almost got me_," Damon replied amiably before turning angry again. "_Where is it?_"

"I'll get it back, but I need time."

"_What, did you FedEx it to Rome? Where is it? I want my ring, Stefan, or my next stop's Elena's. Or possibly Helene's. I know; both. A two for one deal_."

"I already want you dead," Stefan's voice turned a cold that Helene only heard when he talked to his brother. She wondered if she had that same chill when she normally talked to Nina. "Don't give me another reason to make it happen."

"_Don't give me another reason to rip you apart_," Damon retorted.

"Yeah?" the youngest brother asked in a challenge. "Is that gonna be before or after you get your ring back?"

"_Just get it_." Then Damon hung up and the line went dead.

"So he's out..." Helene stated the obvious, doing so to let the new information sink in. "And he killed Zack. But how?"

"Caroline." He ran a hand though his hair again and sighed once more.

"So that's where she ran off to. I should've know."

"You heard him, Helene, he wants his ring back. Which means he'll come for you to get it respelled. I knew it was stupid asking you to undo the magic."

"No, it wasn't," she protested with a shake of her head. "We couldn't risk him using someone else to get it for him. It's not your fault he used Caroline to actually break him out first. If casting another protection spell on that ring keeps him from hurting anyone else, then so be it." She hugged him sideways on the swing and rested her head on his shoulder.

"What were you doing out here, anyway?" he asked after a short silence. At first Helene considered telling him about everything going on, and what would most likely happen soon, but quickly discarded the idea. He had enough problems to deal with. So she lied.

"Just enjoying the peace and quiet," she said, indicating with her mug of chocolate.

"With two mugs?" He reached for Nina's half empty cup.

"That one tastes like dirt," she smiled and got up, taking both the mugs with her when walking towards the door. "It's been a long day, I'm gonna hit the hay."

"If it's alright with you I think I'll stay here and keep an eye out," the vampire said, worry painted across his face. "Just in case."

"Of course. Goodnight." He gave her a weak smile before she disappeared inside, and turned to look at Elena's window.

* * *

Waking up the next morning, Helene felt a strange need to read through the large amount of old grimoires that contained page upon page of spells and curses, recipes for potions and poisons, and all the scrambled thoughts of women long since dead . She fought it for a while, yelling at herself that it was a bad idea. Nothing good ever came of rehashing old wounds. The thoughts of her mother and grandmother and great-grandmother and great-great-great-great-grandmother couldn't make a difference.

She tried to subdue the urges by watching TV, then cook breakfast, then return to the TV again. Nothing worked, and before long she was sitting in her open window, the old chest open and books spread by her side. Some were up to three hundred years old, kept intact by some sort of magic, Helene assumed. The Sanguis book lay as locked as ever on her bed while she opened a small brown, leather-bound grimoire from almost two hundred years ago. She soon grew tired of reading about men and children and all their mischief. Realizing that it was her mother's book she wanted to read, she sighed and closed the one in her hand.

She had consciously stacked Kate Smith's books at the bottom of the chest, meaning for them to never be opened in Helene's lifetime. But now it seemed she couldn't stop herself.

Walking back over to the open chest with the other grimoires, she dove in and searched and found her mother's texts. Begrudgingly she slumped down on her bed, next to the Sanguis book, and opened the newest grimoire with more than a little unease.

The first hundred pages consisted of a child's thoughts and handwriting, before evolving into pretty cursive letters describing boys and parties that sounded so fun Helene almost wanted to be there now. In between the sections of puppy love and teenage drama where lines that painted a vivid picture of a scared girl, fighting hard to stay normal but failing badly. There was also something darker; an anger Helene knew all too well from her own emotions and a sense of something hidden and un-revealed. An entry from December 1990 caught her eye.

_9. December 1990_

_We've just moved again, for what feels like the hundredth time. Or maybe it's more...  
Nina asked me why we had to leave. I didn't know what to say. It's impossible to explain such a thing to a six year old child who still believes in Santa Claus and the Boogeyman. I dread the idea of what would happen if she realized the Boogeyman isn't just one man, but a whole group that's coming after her._

_This isn't working anymore! _

_Richard says he's fine with it, that he doesn't care as long as we're all safe. But he's wrong. It's **not** fine, and I know that. But I don't know what else to do._

_The baby is coming in June , and I don't want her to live like this. I want my girls to be happy and safe and have friends without worrying about when they have to leave them behind. Yet I know, deep down, that will never happen. The Order will never stop. If **we **stop, we're dead._

_Sometimes I wish I never fell in love and started a family. Everything was so much easier on my own._

_Lonely and empty of meaning, but easy._

Helene frowned down at the page and found herself feeling sad at her mother's desperate state of mind. A part of her feared those might be her thoughts someday. Reading on, she stopped again on a segment from some years later.

_13. August 1999_

_Something is wrong with my girls. Ever since Richard died two years ago there's been something off with them. Or rather, between them. Of course losing their father would change them, but not like this._

_Nina keeps hitting her sister, yelling at her for trivial things. I'm getting worried.  
Helene just takes it like Nina's right and everything is her fault. I think she just wants to let Nina act out. She's so smart for an eight year old, stronger than I was at that age. Both in magic and in mind.  
Sometimes she looks at me with those big blue eyes and it's like she's seeing straight through me and my lies._

_Hopefully this arguing will be over soon and we can go back to being a family again._

"Seems like you were wrong there, Mom," Helene said out loud with a wry smile. Soon the topic of her mother's cancer entered the picture and the words became sadder and madder and hopeless.

_12. May 2006_

_I can feel myself slipping away, slowly and painfully._

_Nina seems oblivious, the way she runs around doing God knows what. Teenage rebellion, _E_ assures me. It doesn't help._

_Helene sees everything I don't want her to see. She puts up this strong front for me so I won't know how hard this is for her. But I hear her crying in her sleep the nights she refuses to leave. My sweet baby girl, always thinking about others. I fear for her in the future ahead after I'm gone, which won't be long. Every part of me aches and the chemotherapy has stopped working._

_ I have so many regrets. So many things I never did._

_My dream of raising the girls peacefully was always impossible, but it didn't stop me from wanting it. I have hope that they will survive, like our family has always done. We might be witches, but our true power is survival. **Superessendam omnimodo; survival at all costs.**_

The last entry's first line made Helene's breath hitch in her throat, out of both guilt and expectation. It was addressed to her and Nina. Their mother had written something for them, but they had hidden it all away, hoping for distance. Quickly, so she wouldn't lose her nerve, she read the last words her mother ever wrote.

_15. June 2006_

_My sweet, sweet girls. I have so much I want to say to you both, but I'll try to keep it short since time is drawing to an end._

_I love you both so much. More than you will ever fully comprehend until you have children of your own.  
Life will not be easy and it will be dangerous and unfair, but if you stick together, things won't be so bad. Promise me you'll look out for each other despite your differences._

_Nina, you were never an easy child to manage, always getting yourself into trouble, but I know you are a good person, with a passion and a fierceness I have never seen anywhere else. Take care of your little sister, she needs you. Even if she says she doesn't. Remember; family is what matters most in this crazy world.  
I love you, my little rebel. Be safe._

_Then there's you, my little Atlas.  
You are so young, yet carry the whole weight of the world on your shoulders, just because you don't want anyone else to have to. I fear that might be your downfall. But it is also what makes you so special. The world is dark and full of terrors, but you light it up like a sun. Please don't ever change that, but learn to lean on others. Share your burden so that it won't crush you. I love you._

**_Familia super omnes; family above all._**

The tear that suddenly hit the paper snapped Helene out of her trance. She hadn't even realized she was crying.

The sudden ringing of the doorbell, almost made her jump out of her skin. Apparently, the person at her door was in a hurry, playing the annoying bell again and again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she grumbled while wiping away the few tears on her face and descending the stairs.

Jeremy Gilbert stood outside, looking freaked. "Helene, it's Vicky. Something's wrong."

"Jeremy?" she asked, a little confused since she had never really spoken to the kid before. Seeing the look in his eyes, she decided to let it slide. "What are you talking about?"

"I called Matt, he's on his way," Jeremy continued like she'd never spoken. He grabbed her by the arm and all but dragged her out of her house and towards his, all the while explaining in a panicked voice. "Elena mentioned something about your sister being a junkie. I think Vic's on something. You have to help her."

They crossed the yard quickly and entered the house to find Vicky Donovan throwing all the food she could fit into her mouth. A pair of sunglasses lay on the kitchen counter next to her meal of uncooked meat and left over pizza.

"Vicky?" Helene asked cautiously, having dealt with enough strung out people in her life to be careful when they acted like this. The redhead in question was frantically finding more food, hardly chewing it before swallowing. "Vicky, I need you to calm down."

"I am calm!" she snapped and glared at the newly arrived blonde. The two had a mutual dislike for each other after Tyler broke up with her to be with Helene, this situation didn't make it any better. "I'm just so _hungry_!"

"Jeremy," Helene called and pointed at the windows. "Shut the curtains." He frowned at her for a second before springing into action.

* * *

By the time Matt got there, Vicky was balled down behind the counter, sunglasses back on, munching on a sandwich and drinking Mountain Dew. He stopped and looked at his sister before asking, "What's she on?" It seemed it wasn't uncommon for her to act out.

"I-I don't know," Jeremy stuttered.

"She can't stop eating," Helene informed him as he crouched down in front of Vicky. Gently he removed the glasses and looked her over. She squinted her eyes and turned her head.

"Hey, Vic. How you doin'?"

"Not good, Matty," she replied, tired and in pain. "I hurt."

"Ok, where's it hurt?"

"My gums." She brought her hand up to her mouth and touched the offending part. "My jaw hurts. My gum- there's something in my gums, and it hurts." The hysterics turned into her breathing heavily, at the brink of crying.

"Ok, well-" Matt tried to reach out for her, but she backed further into the counter at her back to get away.

"No. Just leave me alone."

"Come on, Vic. Don't be like that. Let's get you home."

"Just turn it off!" Vicky yelled, confusing the other three.

"Turn what off?" Jeremy asked, sharing a look with Helene and Matt.

"The talking," she got to her feet, pushing her brother out of the way. "The chatter, just turn it off." She stopped in the doorway to the living room where the TV was on, broadcasting a news report at a sound so low, no one but Vicky heard it. Jeremy turned the sound up, and Logan Fell informed them of three bodies found dead at the old Mystic Falls cemetery. They thought it was a drug deal gone wrong.

"That's where we were last night," Jeremy said, horrified.

Matt turned to his sister. "What happened, Vic?" When she just kept staring at the screen, he added, "I'm calling the cops."

"No." She grabbed him by the arm to keep him in place. "Don't."

"Vicky," Helene approached her and put a hand over the one holding on to Matt's arm. "You need to tell us what happened."

"What happened after I left last night, Vic?" Jeremy walked over, making Helene move away. Suddenly, Vicky lashed out and pushed Jeremy into the back of the sofa. Helene moved in front of the redhead and pried her grip from Matt's arm.

That's when Elena and Stefan came through the door, quickly figuring out something was wrong. The vampire and the witch shared a meaningful look.

"What's going on?" Elena asked.

"Stay back," Helene told her before Stefan stepped up beside her.

"Helene, back up." She did as she was told and positioned herself next to Elena while he gently took Vicky's face in his hands to make eye contact. "Vicky, look at me. Focus. You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine." He turned to Matt and Jeremy and handed her over to them. "Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds. She's gonna be OK. Come on," he ushered. "Come on."

After the others went upstairs, Helene stayed with Elena until Stefan came back.

"You know what's wrong with her?" Elena asked, worried for the girl she had know all her life.

"Yeah," he replied, sending another look Helene's way. She nodded, a silent signal that she understood what was happening.

"What is it?"

"She's transitioning," he said.

"Transitioning to what?"

"A vampire," Helene answered, searching her eyes. The fear came in the blink of an eye.

"What?" Elena asked, hoping it wasn't true.

"Damon must have gotten to her," Stefan continued, looking between the two girls. "She's new. She hasn't completed her transformation yet."

"H-how does she do that?"

He stayed silent for a while, just breathing. She had already learnt so much today, this was not something he liked to spring on her too. "She has to feed on human blood."

"And what if she doesn't?"

Stefan sent a pleading look to Helene, who nodded and sighed before saying, "She has twenty-four hours to feed. If she doesn't, she'll die. We have no idea how long she has left."

Elena looked shocked and started pacing back and forth under the archway. "She's upstairs with him right now."

"It's ok," Stefan said. "She doesn't know what's happening to her yet."

"So when is she gonna know?"

"Right now, she doesn't remember anything. A part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back, and then she'll know she has to make the choice."

"The same choice you made?"

Helene's jaw almost went slack, but she caught herself. The tone in her voice was almost angry. So he had told her everything she wanted, but it didn't seem like the transition was cleared up yet. She understood his want to keep it from her, but Elena seemed to find out the truth anyway. It would only be a short amount of time before she knew.

When Stefan looked away and didn't answer, Elena took a deep breath before walking away. All Helene could do was slap him on the shoulder as a sign of support.

Three minutes later, Vicky came rushing down the stairs, shoes in hand, and ran out the door. Matt and Jeremy followed her outside. They looked for her, but she was nowhere in sight.

"She was fine and then she just- she just freaked out," Jeremy said.

"I'm gonna go look for her." Matt ran for his truck. "Call me if you hear anything." He started the car and drove off.

Stefan walked up to Elena in the front yard. "I can track her."

"Go," Elena hurried.

Stefan looked at Helene. "I'll stay," she said.

* * *

When she left Elena's house, having kept an eye on them until Elena told her they would be fine, it was already dark.

Helene walked up to her own front door and stopped dead in her tracks. She always, _always_, locked her door after leaving. It had been drilled into her mind so she would never forget. And even though Jeremy had dragged her out earlier, leaving no room for securing her home, she had come back and locked up both her window upstairs and the door. Yet, when she inserted her key into the lock and twisted it, the usual sound of the bolt sliding back didn't come. Her body responded by switching into defense mode.

Softly opening the door, she slid inside without a sound and glanced around the rooms on the first floor. Nothing seemed amiss. She held her breath and was just about to mount the stairs to investigate further when the front door slammed shut. Before she was able to turn around, she was slammed into the wall with a hand at her throat. Her mouth instinctively opened to draw a surprised breath, but Damon's hand was squeezing too tight.

"You're gonna fix my ring," he said matter-of-factly, staring her down and practically asking her to challenge him. For the first time, Helene noticed how dark the outline of his ice-blue irises were and it was like there was nothing else in the world but those hard eyes.

When her mind snapped back to attention, it wasn't because she was able to tear herself out of the trance, but because her need for breath made her gasp for it. Damon let his grip loosen enough for air to flow through to her lungs again but kept her against the wall. "Here." He produced the ring that had previously been a daylight ring, but was now only glorified man jewelry. "Fix it," he commanded and shoved it into Helene's grip before letting her feet back on the ground.

She stumbled a little and drew in several deep breaths. She wondered if that was what it felt like being compelled; unable to think of anything else but blue and black and Damon. For a brief second she was afraid if she looked him in the eyes again that she'd slip into a coma, but quickly got her courage -and her IQ- back.

"Fine," she finally said, straightening her back and posture. She was helping the enemy and she didn't like it, but her pride was still intact enough to do so without whining about it. "Go get me that candle." She pointed to a black candle standing in a corner on her kitchen counter. "And that lighter."

"Can't you just, you know -" he made a grand gesture with his hands that sort of resembled jazz hands. "Fly them over here."

"No," she told him tersely. "I could, but I won't. I don't use magic unless I have to. Or if I'm bored."

"Well _I'm_ bored. Do it."

"No. I'm restoring your ring without a fight, the least you could do is-"

"Shut up." He held a hand up in front of her and cocked his head up the stairs. "Who else is here?" He started climbing the stairs. "Is it lover boy?"

"No..."

"Then who does the second heart belong to?" He climbed the stairs and entered her bedroom, ripping the door open and rushing inside.

Helene ran up and found him holding a bald man in khaki pants and a blue shirt in a choke-hold, the big chest by her bed open and rummaged through. The Sanguis book was lying flat on its cover, the front pressed to the floor. She went cold all over and froze in her spot by the door.

"And who might you be?" Damon asked the man. When he didn't answer, Damon tightened his grip, only to frown when his fingers didn't work. The man pried the vampire's fingers open and stepped back to take a breath. He straightened his shirt and looked at Helene.

She blinked. Once. Twice.

Then everything toppled away and her head hit the floor painfully. She blinked again, this time to remove the stars from her vision, and felt the cool metal of a knife pressed to the edge of her chin.

"Move, and you die, harlot." The man's voice was angry and threatening, leaving no room for doubt.

Despite the obvious honesty in his voice, there was no way she was giving herself over to him. Her stubbornness and the instinctual need to fight whenever the 'fight-or-flight-or-keep-your-mouth-shut-and-do-as-he-says' option occurred gave her no choice. "Not today," she retorted before planting her foot in his gut and kicking him away from her. He was quicker on his feet than her and started advancing again while reciting a spell that exploded a migraine in Helene's brain so bad she felt like crying.

On her hands and knees she pressed at her skull and gritted her teeth. Anger mixed in with the pain from the hole inside her that always seemed to harbor the darkest parts of her, and she pushed back against the man's spell.

A strangled cry escaped his mouth and he fell over, much like she was positioned, blood streaking down from his nose and ears and eyes.

Getting to her feet, she shook her head to relieve the last of the headache and walked over to the man on his knees, screaming for her to stop.

"Shut up!" she yelled with a flaming anger and ice in her eyes. She kicked his head and he fell over, unconscious. She stood there and stared.

Damon cleared his throat. "A little help here," he strangled out, whatever spell cast on him making it hard to speak. He had expected her to look over and smile at his predicament, or make a joke of some sort. But when her eyes met his, it was like a whole new person was standing in the room with him.

Her posture was tense and predatory. Her eyes weren't filled with the fiery wit and courage it usually held. Now it was ice, so cold and dark and unrelenting that any other man might've cringed under her gaze. He was thankful for the paralytic spell at that moment; otherwise she would've seen him flinch.

A quick and dismissive wave of her hand freed him from his position. Without a second glance, Helene grabbed hold of the man's pant leg and dragged him after her, out of the room and down the flight of stairs. His head thumped loudly and painfully every time it bounced off a step and onto the next.

The vampire followed cautiously behind, his eyes boring into her back and trying to figure her out.

Once downstairs, Helene let go of the man and let him lie on the floor of her kitchen before retrieving the dark candle and lighter from before. Lighting the candle and holding the ring she'd kept in her pocket over it, she closed her eyes and breathed in slowly.

"Sol est inimica mea, nox mihi carcere, Eripe me his qui vincire catena." The Latin slipped over her tongue like liquid. The hours of learning the dead language really paid off.  
Helene opened her blue eyes again and once more did Damon notice how deep and truly _ancient_ her anger was. "It's done." The witch threw him his daylight ring and he stared at it suspiciously while she pulled out her phone and barked, "Get here! Now!" to the person on the other side.

"That's it?" he asked, running his finger over the lapis lazuli.

"What, you want me to pull a rabbit out of my ass?" she snapped.

"Now _that_ would be a cool trick," he joked, trying -and failing- to lighten her spirits. He had no idea why he felt the need to see her happy again, but it burned in him like the bloodlust after a week of starvation.

"Get out," Helene told him, turning her back and finding a wooden chair and placing it in the middle of the kitchen floor. Swishing noises sounded when all the curtains in the house pulled themselves shut. Damon put the ring on, thinking he would make sure she was being honest by forcing Stefan to try it in the morning.

Inserting her arms under the strange man's armpits, Helene hauled him singlehandedly into the awaiting chair. The vampire's eyebrows shot up in a second of surprise. He went back to looking mildly bored again before she noticed.

"I told you to get out," she repeated, not looking up at him as she rummaged through a nearby cupboard and finding silver duct tape. She returned to the man and started confining him to the chair with the tape. When she didn't hear any sign of him leaving, Helene locked eyes with Damon.

This time, he did flinch. But she didn't seem to notice.

"He paralyzed me!" Even to himself that had sounded like a child refusing to go to bed. "I want to stay."

He was surprised when the witch stopped taping the man down and thought about his wishes. "... Fine," she answered after a few seconds, sounding reluctant. But his sensitive hearing also picked up on something else in her voice, something he couldn't quite place. "But keep your mouth shut."

Suddenly the doorbell rang and the two exchanged glances. Binding a bleeding man to a kitchen chair would be hard to explain. No one moved.

"It's me," came Nina's voice from outside and Helene let out a breath. Before she could open the door, Damon did it for her, stepping up and ripping the door open. The wood creaked in dissatisfaction.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled. Helene frowned at his angry tone, but dropped it quickly. He didn't matter now.

"She called me, dumbass," Nina snapped back, looking past Damon to the man in the chair. The sisters shared a look and the older Smith knew what was going to happen tonight. It seemed like the younger one did too.

"Here to rip your sister apart?" Damon asked, walking away from the door and sitting down on a stool by the kitchen island, directly in front of the unconscious man who's head was hanging limply forward. The door he left open.

"No," she replied, irritation apparent in her tone. She looked at Helene who was just staring at the man, arms crossed and a look that could kill. "Why is he even allowed inside?"

Damon was the one to answer. "Because you tried to kill her!"

"What does that have to do with-" she cut herself off when something connected in her head. She looked from the vampire to her sister and back to the vampire again. "Oh."

"Oh?" he mocked. "Oh what?"

A groan came from the tied up man and Helene inclined her head to one side.

"If you two are done..." she said, sounding nothing like the girl Nina grew up with.

She had seen it before, heard that tone, experienced the thousand year old anger boiling inside that small piece of teenager. It had saved them and their friends' lives several times, but nothing good ever came from it. Every time someone got hurt. Badly.

Both vampires started when the blonde suddenly slapped the man across the face, yelling "wake up!" so loudly half the neighborhood must've heard.

Groggily, the man lifted his head and dared open his eyes. His brown orbs went wide and he looked like a deer in the headlights, fully aware that the semi truck heading towards him at a hundred miles an hour was gonna crush every single bone in his body. His eyes met Helene's and her muscles stretched up in a evil smile. He was deathly afraid of her. Good.

"What's your name?" she asked, her tone barley disguising her fury. Remaining silent, he looked around the room at Damon and Nina. They stopped at Nina for an intense glare before returning to her sister. The moment his focus was back on her, Helene brought her fist up and punched him hard. The man's head snapped to the side and blood started trickling from his split lip. "I asked you a question," she seethed.

"He's not gonna say anything," Nina answered for him after a few seconds of silence. "They never do."

"The one in Alabama did," Helene turned away from the man and flexed her hand. The downside with hitting someone, it usually hurt you too.

"He was practically a kid, sis. This one's probably been with them since before we were born. You know what we have to do." Their eyes met and Nina pushed against the urge to back off a step. If their mother could see her little angle now...

As if their conversation had never happened, Helene turned back to the man and grabbed him by the jaw, leaving only inches between their faces. "I must admit I'm impressed," she said almost conversationally. "You were a lot faster than I'd anticipated." She waited for a response that never came. "Carl, what did you want with him?" Again she was met with defiance. In a spark of frustration, she let go of the man's face and kicked him over by impacting her shoe with his temple. The chair fell hard. The man fell harder.  
"Damon!" The sudden call made him sit up in attention. All the while he'd been studying her, watching her like a scientist watched a lab rat. "He paralyzed you, now's your chance to get even."

"What do you want me to do? I can't freeze him." His eyes met the man. The fear he was expecting to find was nowhere. Until the man's eyes landed on Helene again. She was the only thing that frightened him. That was certainly interesting. And annoying.

"I don't know," Helene gave a forced shrug to appear like her usual self. "Eat him for all I care."

Damon stood up and approached her, stopping just before her. Nina watched them thoughtfully from the doorway, a small smile threatening to cross her lips.

_Looks like Katherine's got competition,_ she thought.

His voice was as smooth and mocking as always, but there was an undertone of interest underneath. "Are you sure you could live with his blood on your hands, Barbie?"

"Technically, his blood would be on your lips," she replied, already feeling some of that dark anger melting away. Some deep and hidden, almost forgotten, part of her was screaming at her that it was his fault. That the anger was slipping away because of him. The rational part of her brain told her that was nonsense. "But yes, I could live with that." She stopped and glanced down at the fallen man before adding, "It wouldn't be the first time."

"Oh really?" His eyes lit up in curiosity.

"There was a reason my family always kept moving around," she told him, not seeing the harm when he was already involved. It was only fair that he knew what it was about. "And not just 'cause of my sister."

"Hey!" Nina yelled in protest, but her sister continued.

"That's just been the past year. These bastards-" she indicated to the man with a solid kick to his abdomen. "-have been hunting our bloodline since it first appeared. They've made a cult out of it, those fuckers. Last time was two years ago, in Seattle. Let's just say we didn't give him a warm Smith-family welcome."

A low rumble of chanting came from the man's mouth as he stared at Helene. Nina pushed against the invisible barrier that was holding her out, yelling her sister's name. The house was beginning to shake, the pictures and mirrors and panes of glass rattling wildly.

All Helene could hear was the chanting, getting louder and louder in her head, blocking out every sense, every thought, every movement. The words were dark and sounded like rumbling thunder, reverberating through her bones and shaking her to the core.

Damon was thrown back, out the door and landed on top of Nina. She immediately pushed him off her and tried to open the door that had slammed shut on its own.

"We need to get back in there!" she yelled, though no noise was trying to overpower her. The house seemed to be in its own little bubble of existence, allowing no sound or vibration to escape its walls.

The raven-headed vampire got to his feet and tried kicking the door in. He tried once, twice, three times before Nina shoved him out of the way and she tried to force her way in through the solid door by hitting it time and time again with her fists. Damon hammered on the windows, searched around the building to find any point of entry, but everything was locked tight.

"He's gonna kill her!" Nina screamed, a surprising panic stirring up inside of her.

"What do you even care?" he snapped at her, frustrated by the lack of progress.

"What do _you_?" she asked back.

He stopped in his tracks at her question. What _did_ he really care? Helene was nothing more than a fun toy to mess around with. The only one in this town except his brother that wasn't scared of him, and that fascinated him to no end. Then there was the way she smiled and laughed like any normal teenager, but as evidenced by tonight's events, kept something dark and dangerous underneath the surface... An image of Helene smiling crept into his vision and a small smile tugged at his lips.

Then the house stopped shaking and the glass settled. The door gave way for Nina's obsessive banging and Damon hurried inside.

The blonde witch was standing over the man's body, breathing heavily with her back toward the others. Her hair was tussled, shifted by some disturbance. Her hands were clenched into fists, eyes purely focused on the limp man before her. She closed her eyes for several seconds before opening them again. Now they were almost back to normal, just as vibrant and carefree as before, but Damon doubted he would ever look at her the same way again.

Nina focused on the man's body and heard nothing. The way his limbs were placed, angled at unnatural degrees, and how his face seemed frozen and forever etched in pure terror and agony, told them all what had been the end result of some epic battle of power. They all knew it before Nina uttered the words.

"He's dead."

"Damon," Helene said and he looked at her. "Get him out of here."

"Me?" he asked.

"Yeah, what the hell did you think I was keeping you around for?" She crossed her arms and shifted her weight to her right hip. "Company?"

"Fine," he smirked wickedly. "But you owe me."

"No, I don't," she shook her head. "I wanted him dead. You wanted him dead. I fixed that and now you get rid of the body."

"I didn't even get to kill him!" he protested.

"Not my problem," she smiled. The sound of a horn caught everyone's attention and through the open door they could see Tyler Lockwood waiting in his car. Helene grabbed her jacket and bag and headed for the car.

Damon was left looking after her as she drove away with her boyfriend.

Nina watched him gaze after her sister in a confused manner, probably having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that her sister had used him to her advantage all along. When he finally started picking up the body, she waved a mock goodbye before disappearing into the night. Not that she'd be too far away. Katherine had said keep an eye on her sister, it didn't matter if she actually wanted to this time.

* * *

**So Nina and Helene are reconnecting it seems... Let me know what you think in a review :)**

**And if you caught the Game of Thrones/ Song of Ice and Fire reference, you're awesome!**


	8. Hate

**Chapter 8**

**Hate**

* * *

There's always fallout when you kill someone. Some kind of consequence or reaction. It can be jail or lethal injection if you get caught. Depression and paranoia if you don't. Then there's the loved ones of the dead; wife, kids, mother or father. No matter what it is, no matter who you kill, there is always _something._

"There was this one time in junior high..."

Tyler was sitting across from Helene in a booth at the Grill, talking about something she couldn't really hear. She caught snippets but never anything that captured her attention.  
Her mind was spinning, whether to figure the night's events out or to punish her for murdering someone. The first was more likely. The second felt more appropriate.

"... Stole the keys... Swimming pool..."

The problem wasn't that she was feeling sad or depressed or even guilty. It was the fact that she didn't feel _anything_that bothered her. Hadn't she just murdered a man in cold blood, mere thirty minutes ago? Still, there she sat, picking at her Greek Salad while her boyfriend was blabbering on and on about something that had no meaning to her whatsoever.

She should be feeling _something_!

"... Patrick... Fell and broke..."

It was the first time that had been the worst. All the others just fell in line to make up some morbid reminder that she should feel bad. But it was always just as hollow and empty as it was making her feel now. Except the one that crushed her innocence into dust and spread it with the wind like it had never even existed.

It had been a man then, too. The Order only had men.  
He had been about fifty years, dark hair that was smoothed back into a ponytail and unusually long and skinny fingers. She figured the only reason she actually remembered him was because he was her first. People always say that; you never forget your first. Though usually, they're talking about love or sex...

Helene had just gotten home from school. **E** had been the one to push her, told her she had to. Her mom and sister had stood by and nodded whenever she looked over at them. This needed to be done, they said. Both of them had killed before, and now it was her turn. They couldn't coddle her forever, even if they wanted to.

"... We laughed...Oh shit ... Called... Hospital..."

Someone laughing at the bar caught the witch's attention and her eyes darted for the sound. A woman in her forties, dressed way too youthful, like she was refusing to acknowledge gravity's pull on her body, was flirting with the guy beside her. In a matter of seconds several different scenarios ran through Helene's head; smash glass into face, head against countertop, a few easy spells no one would even notice unless they were looking. They were all separate ways to kill her, some stealthily, others not so much. All easy enough to do.

The same went for the bartender or the gang of teenagers by the pool tables. Or even Tyler. She could use her fork to do it many different ways. Stab him in the eye for example, driving it straight into his brain. Or stick it in his throat, or vital organs. Under the clavicle.

"-eels..." A hand came into view, waving itself in front of her object of interest. His lips were moving, and he was looking at her. She couldn't hear a word he was saying. He was talking to her, right? "Helene!"

The sudden outburst made her start and sit back, blinking as she was ripped away from her homicidal thoughts.

There's always fallout. Always _something._

"W-w-what?" Helene stuttered, looking around confused. People were staring at her. Tyler must've yelled her name.

"Are you OK?" His voice was soft and caring, his touch, when he reached for her hand, comforting.

"I'm fine," she smiled but felt it quiver on her face. It fell quickly. "It's just been a long day."

"Oh yeah?" Tyler had completely pushed his story away and was looking at her intently. "What happened?"

_I killed someone._ "My sister's in town. Showed up at my door." A good lie is always the one with a little truth mixed in.

"The girl I saw on your porch when I picked you up?"

"That's her," she nodded, feeling his warm hand over hers at the table. She pulled it free and got on her feet. "I'm really not feeling so good. Would you mind if we called it a night?"

"No, it's fine." He stood up and gathered his coat. "You ready to go?"

"I just need to go to the bathroom first. Meet you outside?" When he nodded, she hurried off into the restaurant's ladies room. Checking all the stalls, she started the coldwater tap on one of the sinks and leant against the porcelain. She gathered some water in her hands and splashed it in her face, not caring about her makeup.

She met her own eyes in the reflection and the man from the Order swam in front of her. Killing him had happened so quickly, and so slowly at the same time. Self-defense, her brain was saying. Murder, her heart was screaming. She closed her blue eyes to push the feelings away.

He had gotten loose somehow, wiggled himself free from the duct tape when she wasn't looking. Or maybe it had happened when he was chanting, locking her mind up completely. It had been a horrible feeling. The dark words, seeing but not seeing, only able to hear the thundering Latin. In the back of her mind she had registered Damon flying outside and the door slamming shut behind him. Then the man was standing up, wiping the dried blood away from under his nose and eyes. He was still scared, knew he was taking a huge risk, it was all there in his eyes. Something had snapped inside Helene's head then, anger blazing with a fury that she'd never felt before. He'd been dead within a minute, his screams muted by the agony he was feeling. A mysterious wind had picked up, whipping her long blonde tresses around her face.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Helene opened her eyes again and walked out into the restaurant and out the door. Only to stop in her tracks after taking two steps on the parking lot.

Stefan was holding a crazed and vamped out Vicki, while Damon had Tyler in a chokehold, raised into the air so his feet didn't touch the ground.

"Oh, come on," Damon was saying to his brother. "Who's gonna miss this idiot?"

"I will!" Helene yelled, walking over to him and glaring. "So either let him go, or I will make you do it."

"You're no fun tonight," he replied with disappointment before looking Tyler right in the eye. His pupils dilated and retracted. "Forget what you saw here tonight. None of us were here." Then he glanced at Helene with a wicked smile and added, "And you don't really want to have sex tonight either."

"Damon!" she shrieked in protest and he flicked Tyler away from him, sending him flying over his car and landing hard on the asphalt, groaning as he clutched his back. "Tyler!" She ran to crouch down next to him.

"Wow, Helene, make up your mind on whose name you're gonna scream; Tyler might get jealous." With that, all three vampires blurred off.

* * *

The next night was Halloween and the entire town seemed to be out and about. Half of it was present at the school's Haunted House. A group of girls came running out of some curtains to get out of it. They were screaming and laughing all at once.

Tyler was dressed up as a roman solider, a red cape, leather kilt and strap sandals. When Helene arrived, he was talking with Bonnie and Caroline over a cauldron filled with candy. They were both dressed as witches. Bonnie stirred the pot with a long spoon. When a wolf whistle sounded behind him, Tyler turned to find Helene dressed in a short, jagged-lined light green dress, ballerina shoes with fuzzy white balls and a small handbag of silver. Her hair was pinned up onto her head in a bun.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to be Tinkerbell?" he asked and kissed her cheek. "I could have been Peter Pan."

"I like this costume better," she laughed, tracing his well toned chest muscles. Bonnie cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Sorry. You two look great." She took Tyler's hand. "Come on, Caesar. Let's see how scary this place really is."

They entered the Haunted House and Tyler immediately put his hand on her hip. "Don't worry, Tink, I'll keep you safe."

Helene had to concentrate hard on not biting his head off. He didn't know she didn't like being coddled or protected. He didn't know what she could do, what she had done. If he did, he'd be the one who was scared.

Eventually the couple found some of Tyler's friends to hang out with. According to Tyler he had told her yesterday all about Patrick's little accident at the pool. She didn't remember, but laughed and played along as best she could. It got boring quickly.

Dragging her boyfriend into a dark corner, she proceeded to start a make-out session. He was surprised at first but caught on fast. Just as his hand was travelling up her bare thigh, he was ripped away and met by Damon's icy stare.

"You're gonna go hang around outside and stand like a Roman statue. Here," he grabbed a foam spear from a kid passing by and handed it to him. "use that." Then Damon pushed him away and watched him leave. When he turned his attention to Helene, she was glaring at him like she usually did. "Love the outfit."

She sighed tiredly and rolled her eyes. "What is your problem with him?"

"He called me dude," Damon shrugged, taking in her costume for the third time. He wished the dress was a little shorter.

"Oh," she nodded exaggeratedly. "he called you **dude**. What an asshole. Maybe I can fix that." Opening her silver handbag, taking out a fistful of its contents, she brought it up to her lips and blew a whole glitter-cloud right at his face. It stuck to his skin and skirt so well he seemed almost radiant. He dropped his characteristic smirk in the quarter of a second and set his jaw, glaring hard at her. The whole display made her laugh so hard she almost cried. Managing to collect herself enough to speak, she choked out, "Now you sparkle. You can say you're Edward Cullen. You're welcome."

Surprisingly enough, he didn't rip her head off, figuratively or literally. If she hadn't been closing her eyes to gather her wits again, she would have seen the smile that involuntarily broke out on his face. A wide, genuine grin. He didn't even know where it came from.

"What are doing here?" Helene eventually asked, finally remembering who she was standing with. It took an immeasurable amount of effort to keep from having another laughing fit when glitter fell from his nose. It was so adorable she almost wanted to kiss him. Mentally slapping herself at the thought, she closed her eyes briefly and cleared her throat.

"It's an open event, isn't it?" the vampire asked casually, that infuriating smirk back in place. Pausing a second, he added, "And Vicky ran off."

"She what?!" the witch half yelled, anger boiling up again.

"Don't freak out," he put his hand on her bare shoulders. "Stefan and I will handle her. She came here to find Little Gilbert."

Ignoring the way his touch burned her skin, she pushed his hands off and gave him a stern look. "There are hundreds of kids here. We need to stop her before-" Seeing a couple kissing across the hall, she froze. But it lasted only for a second before she stomped over and yanked the girl that was kissing a guy on the neck in the hair and pulled her away from him. "You have got to be kidding me!" she yelled at her older sister, fighting the urge to punch her. She was dressed as a vampire and a thought of how unoriginal that was strafed through Helene's mind before pushing it away. "Please, Nina," she pleaded after letting go of her hair. "I'm begging you, just leave. I have too much on my mind to deal with you right now."

Straightening her back, Nina wiped the blood from around her mouth with the back of her hand. "I actually came here to talk to you... I just got hungry while trying to find you."

"I don't have time. Now please just go... wherever it is you go." Leaving her sister's side, Helene grabbed a hold of Damon's shirt and dragged him after her.

Searching through what felt like the entire school, the two found nothing. Kids and teenagers were running around everywhere, the stereo sending screams and other generic Halloween noises at them, and no one Helene asked had seen either Vicky or Jeremy. After ten minutes of failure, Helene slumped down on the edge of a barrel of squishy candy eyes.

"Are you sure she's here?" she asked Damon, who stood in front of her. The "fairy dust" on his face had lost its comedic value already. He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again until a boy reached over to take some eyes from the barrel. His free hand lightly caressed Helene's butt and before anyone knew it, he was crouching down in pain, holding over his manly parts. The candy eyes had fallen to the floor and rolled around as he wobbled off. Meeting Damon's eyes Helene shrugged and dusted off some invisible dirt from her shoe.

"Elena saw Vicky earlier. She has to be here somewhere."

"Then where?" She threw her hands up in irritation. "We've looked everywhere. Maybe she went back home or something."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you really believe that?"

"No," she pouted, picking at her fingernails. Looking down, Damon noticed how clean and devoid of glitter they were.

"Get this stupid stuff off of me," he commanded sternly, gesturing at his glitter covered face. "Use your magic woo-woo if you have to."

"My magic woo-woo?" she repeated. "Why does that sound so dirty coming from your mouth?" Realizing just what she had said, her cheeks flared up and she tried to salvage her pride. "I did not just say that. Put your hands like this," she cupped her hands under her chin.

While following her instructions, he smirked at her. "Because you wanted me to mean it that way. Sooner or later you're gonna have to admit that you're attracted to me."

With a flick of her wrist the glitter fell from his face and landed in his hands. "No, that would be called lying."

Letting the glitter fall to the floor, he trapped her between his arms as he leaned his hands on the barrel's edge that she was sitting on. His too-blue eyes enveloped her until they were all she could see. Everything else disappeared, no sound broke through to the little bubble they had just made. He was so close she could feel his breath caressing her cheek. The unbidden memory of his lips against hers when he thought she was kissing Simon came back and she glanced down at his lips. His smirk was gone and his eyes when he met them again were too soft to belong to Damon. His smell reached her nose; leather and Bourbon and danger. He was leaning forward, closing the already small gap between them.

A ghost bumped into Damon's side and popped their bubble just in time. If he hadn't, neither of them would've been able to stop themselves. He quickly stood up straight and she moved away from the barrel. She was just about to leave when Damon's phone rang.

It was Stefan, saying he need his brother's help. Fully aware of how bad things must be for Stefan to ask for such a thing, she followed after the vampire outside and to the place where the school-busses stood parked.

Elena sat crying next to Vicky Donovan's dead body, all grey and stiff and hollow on the ground. The hole in her chest showed the signs of a staking. Damon and Helene shared a quick look before both their walls, that had been like glass just seconds ago, went back up.

"You should go," Damon told Elena, who was bleeding from her shoulder. "I got this."

"You did this!" she yelled in response, standing up on shaky legs with an equally shaky voice. "This is your fault!"

"You confuse me for someone with remorse." Overtaken by rage and confusion Elena tried to push him back, which was like pushing against a brick wall. He hardly budged. Moving her arm to slap him, he grabbed a hold of her wrist and squeezed. "None of this matters to me. None of it."

"People die around you!" she continued as if it would make a difference. "How could it not matter?! It matters and you know it!" At his lack of reaction, she slapped him across the face.

"Elena," Helene jumped in between them, noticing Damon's predatory stiffening. "You need to go home." When she only frowned in confusion, she held her shoulders and gently pushed her away. "Now!" Once she was gone, the witch turned to look at Vicky as Damon crouched down and sighed. "She didn't deserve this," she stated after a while, unsettled by her cold and empty stare. "Clean this mess up. It was yours to begin with."

Walking away from him, she found Elena by her car. Her hands shook so badly that she couldn't open the lock. "Here," she offered, extending her hand for the keys. The brunette looked at her, grief in her eyes. "I'll drive you home." That's when Elena's willpower failed and she broke down, rushing into her friend's arms as she cried and sobbed.

* * *

Stefan was waiting for them once they got home, sitting outside on the Gilberts' porch. Helene helped Elena up the stairs and expected her to run to him, but all she did was bite out, "Where is he?"

"Inside," he answered somberly and she nodded and walked in without a word. While Elena spoke to Jeremy, Helene sat down next to Stefan on a bench. "I couldn't save her," he said quietly, staring out into the night.

"You tried your best," she stroked his back comfortingly. "Not everyone is savable. She would've hurt a lot of people if she'd been allowed to live. But I'm sorry you had to be the one to do it."

Soon Elena came back out, wrapped in a blanket with tear marks down her face and still wearing her bloody nurse outfit. So as to not disturb or listen in on their conversation, Helene pulled out her cell phone and played Bubbleshooter. It wasn't until Elena asked Stefan if he could make her brother forget that she looked up.

"What?" she nearly yelled, standing up and walking over to them. "You can't do that to him."

"I don't know how he'll ever get past this. I just want him to forget everything that happened."

"**You** want to?" Helene repeated to make her point clear. "**You** want him to forget. **You** don't think he'll get over it, but he will. That's how life works; bad things happen and you move on as a stronger person. You can't just take his memories away, Elena. It's not your choice. You can't control everything!"

"If I did it," Stefan spoke up, avoiding Helene's eyes, "there's no guarantee that it would work. Because of who I am, because of how I live. I don't have the ability to do it right."

"I can do it." Damon's voice made everyone turn to look at him as he walked forwards. "If this is what you want, I'll do it."

"It's what I want," Elena nodded, looking at Stefan and Helene. The blonde just sighed in defeat. No matter what she said, Elena's mind was made up and there was nothing she could do. That wave of anger that was beginning to feel all too familiar washed over her again. Across the lawn, her own porch light exploded.

"What do you want him to know?"

With more conviction than Helene had ever seen her with, Elena said to Damon, "I want you to tell him that Vicky left town, and she's not coming back. That he shouldn't look for her, or worry about her. He's gonna miss her, but he knows it's for the best."

Damon nodded at her in understanding, sneaking a glance at Helene. She shook her head, slightly biting her lip to hold her tongue, and looked away with a scoff. Just as he was about to walk inside, she turned and walked away from the house, heading in the opposite direction of her own home. He blinked in some unknown annoyance as he stared after her and entered the house.

* * *

With a fire crackling merrily in the fireplace at the Salvatore Boarding House, Helene nuzzled into a thick fur blanket. The Tinkerbell costume was long since discarded, replaced with a tank top and sweatpants. Outside, the weather was slowly turning colder, waiting for winter to take over. In her hands she held a glass of Bourbon. It swirled around and around as she moved it in her hand, creating a maelstrom of gold. It burned as hot as the fireplace when it made its way down her throat. She closed her eyes, enjoying the stinging sensation. Her head immediately felt lighter, removing some of the day's stress.

It wasn't long before she got bored sitting still on the floor. An iPod dock stood nearby and she took the opportunity to play some music. _Good tunes and booze is all you really need after a day like this_, she thought while she sifted through her songs. As it always did when she couldn't decide, Shuffle Mode came to her aid.

Soon the beats of Cascada's "Evacuate The Dance floor" was pumping through the old, empty house. Losing herself completely to the music, Helene danced her heart out, shaking out every thought and memory and emotion. It always did her good to dance. And numerous dance classes -that had been used as an attempt at normalcy at the time- had taught her how to move and groove and swing her hips in a thousand different ways. She liked ballroom dancing well enough, but she found the mix of ballet and jazz to be her absolute favorite way to relax.

While she danced, only lip-syncing the vocals because she was fully aware of how awful she sang, she dialed the local pizza place and ordered a number 7, with extra pepperoni. It took her a minute to remember the address.

The bass stopped, signaling the end of the dance song, and "Animal" by Neon Trees started. A smile crept onto her face as she heard the first notes.

"_Here we go again  
I kinda wanna be more than friends  
So take it easy on me  
I'm afraid  
You're never satisfied  
Here we go again  
We're sick like animals  
We __play__ pretend  
You're just  
A cannibal  
And I'm afraid  
I won't get out alive  
I won't sleep tonight_

Oh oh  
I want some more  
Oh oh  
What are you waiting for  
Take a bite of  
My heart tonight  
Oh oh  
I want some more  
Oh oh  
What are you waiting for  
What are you waiting for  
Say goodbye to my heart  
Tonight

Here we are again  
I feel the chemicals kickin' in  
It's getting heavy  
And I wanna

_run__  
And hide  
I wanna run and hide  
I do it every time  
You're killin' me now  
And I won't be  
Denied by you  
The animal inside of you-_"

Prancing between the sofa and a chair, her hands raised over her head with the empty glass, she opened her eyes and almost screamed. Jumping back in surprise, the back of her legs connected with the armrest of the sofa, flipping her onto it and landing halfway across the pillows, her legs dangling over the traitorous armrest. The glass fell to the ground, but stayed intact.

"Oh, don't stop on my account, Tinkerbell," Damon smirked from where he was leaning against the door opening. "I was quite enjoying the show."

Helene mentally slapped herself for not remembering that he lived here, too. "How long have you been standing there?" she grumbled while she positioned her body to sit properly on the sofa.

Ignoring her question, Damon walked over to the iPod dock and turned down the volume until it was only a low background noise. "Neon Trees..." he mused, looking at the information. "Judging by that goofy smile you had when it came on, I'm guessing they're your favorite?"

She closed her eyes in embarrassment. So he'd been there for a long time. Great. "My smile is not goofy," she decided to say, sounding very much like an indignant child. "It's beautiful and stunning."

Refusing to agree with her, even if a part of him wanted to, Damon laughed. "Whatever makes you sleep at night." He sat down in the big chair she had previously been dancing by and gave her a scrutinizing stare. "What are you even doing here?"

Helene turned her eyes to the fireplace so she could pretend that there was somebody else sitting there. Anyone would do, except for Damon. "I slept at Tyler's last night and was hoping to repeat that tonight too, but they're visiting family in the morning and leaving early. I just..." She paused and took a deep breath. "I just didn't want to sleep at home... Stefan said I could stay here, but now I see what a bad idea that was."

Gathering up the glass that was still lying on the floor, she stood up and sat it on the table. She was just about to walk out when Damon spoke up. "It's fine. You can stay."

"Really?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at the vampire who was sitting directly to her left. "You don't mind?"

"Believe it or not, you're not the worst company."

"Good," she smiled, "'Cause I ordered pizza." They sat in silence for a while, half listening to the low music. Finally, Helene mustered up the courage to ask him the question that had been running around her head since last night. "Where did you put his body?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she knew he heard it.

"Same place I dumped Vicky," he answered nonchalantly, getting up and pouring a glass of Bourbon. He took a swallow and sat back down. The awkward tension in the room was almost palatable. "Does Stefan know?"

"No." She straightened her back in determination. "And he's not gonna know. It's my problem, not his. I can take care of it."

"This is a small town," Damon stated, finding it hard not to roll his eyes at her stupidity. "If the Order comes after you again, he's gonna find out."

"If they come back, I'll deal with it!"

"Alone?" he scoffed. "Do you have a death wish? That guy almost killed you."

"**Almost** being the operative word! I can handle them, like I've always handled them!"

"And what if there's more than one next time? What then?"

"Then I'll kill them too!" she yelled, getting to her feet. "And stop pretending like you care Damon, it really doesn't suit you!"

The sound of the doorbell interrupted Damon's reply, who had also gotten up and stood face to face with her. Neither of them moved. Helene was seething and Damon looked pissed, though she had no idea why. The bell rang again. Then, the door opened and Nina came walking in, holding a pizza box in her hands. She stopped when she saw the two in a staring contest.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked innocently, pretending like she hadn't heard it all from outside. "I brought pizza."

Still Damon and Helene didn't move. Keeping her eyes on Damon, Helene said, "Did you eat the delivery boy?" Nina noticed how tired she sounded.

"Of course not!" she objected loudly. "I'm horrified that you would even think that."

"I can smell his blood on you," Damon put in. To Helene he said, "She ate him."

"I figured," she replied.

"For the record," Nina pushed her way through them, effectively stopping their weird contest, and opened the pizza box on the table. "It was a **man**, not a boy, and I didn't kill him."

"Whatever," Helene sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you," she said with her mouth full. "Like I did earlier, but you practically threw me out."

"Then do it outside," Damon pointed to the door. "This is my house and you are not welcome in it."

"Chill, pretty boy, before I-"

"We'll go," Helene interjected, dragging her sister by the arm out of the room and continuing outside. She closed the door behind them.

It wasn't long before raised voices could be heard from outside. After five minutes Helene came storming in again, slamming the door and looking a lot more dejected than before. She took a deep breath to calm down while she leant against the door.

"What did she want?" Damon's voice made her look up. The fire in her eyes was slowly going out, leaving them looking tired and almost vacant.

"To see if I was feeling okay," she sighed, walking back over to the living room and pouring herself another glass of Bourbon. The sweet burn she'd gotten before was hardly present now.

"And are you?" His soft tone made her frown as she looked up at him. Why did he have to be there when she was on the verge of breaking down? She hated him for it.

"Do you feel anything when you kill someone?"

Her question seemed to surprise him and he blinked before answering. "The first few times," he said, taking a seat in his chair while she slid down the side of the sofa in front of the flames that was starting to fail. "But then I flipped a switch. Now I feel nothing."

"Nothing?" she asked puzzled, not looking at him, but knowing he was looking at her. She could feel his eyes burning the side of her face, almost as hot as the fire. "How is that possible?"

"It's a vampire thing. Once the switch is flipped, all that's left is hunger."

"Can you turn it back on?"

"If I want to."

They fell silent for five entire minutes, the only sound in the room coming from the music player. "I don't feel anything either," Helene stated suddenly, her face a stoic mask. "When I kill someone, I mean. At least not when they're trying to kill me, too. I know I should feel _something_... I just don't."

"Are you scared of them?" Damon asked, searching her face for some hint of emotion, but she seemed to have shut it off, much like he had all those years ago. He hated knowing that his mental switch was gradually flipping itself on again. He hated it even more when he realized it was only around her that it was slipping.

"Honestly? I'm terrified. It's almost an instinctive fear; I know they're trying to murder me and have murdered us Sanguis for generations. But sometimes, like last night, all I feel is... anger and hatred. It overwhelms me and it's like I become a completely different person. It's been happening every day since. I'm having trouble keeping it in." She went silent again before snapping out of her self-pity, realizing all too clearly that it was Damon Salvatore she was spilling her guts to. She quickly stood up. "What am I saying? That's stupid. I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

She practically ran to the room that was basically hers and closed the door behind her, leaning against it for a minute before changing her clothes and going to bed. _You're an idiot_, she yelled at herself. She hated how stupid she was to open up to him. She hated how caring he had sounded. She hated him, she hated him, she **hated** him.

* * *

**I do not own "Evacuate the Dancefloor" by Cascada, or "Animal" by Neon Trees. Just as I don't own The Vampire Diaries.**

**Thank you for reading this new chapter. I have to admit it was a bitch to write for some reason, so it might not be all that good, but I hope you won't hate me for it :P**

**As always, a review would be great.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Just to give you a heads up, I'm trying something different this time, to see if it might compliment the story. I have inserted thoughts as single lines twice here, just to give you a quick view inside their heads. A single thought is on a line of its own and written like this:**_ I like ice cream._

Hope you enjoy this chapter and it would make me really happy if you reviewed afterwards :)

* * *

__**Chapter 9**

_She was standing in the middle of the woods, covered only in the yellow shorts and blue tank top she went to sleep in. It was eerily quiet as the wind blew silently between the trees. A woman was standing in front of her, her long, dark gown flowing lightly in the breeze. Her hair was blonde, her eyes brown. Her posture radiated confidence and wisdom beyond her apparent years. She was the kind of beautiful only nature was able to provide. Her voice was soft as she spoke._

_"I am Esther," she proclaimed with a sweet smile. "Follow me." She didn't wait for Helene to follow, only started walking deeper into the woods. The younger blonde stayed still for a few moments, utterly puzzled and equally as intrigued and curious. "I lived here with my family a long, long time ago. Much has changed," Esther said as Helene finally gave in to the exact thing that killed the cat. "Yet, some things remain the same." She had a British accent that Helene thought fitted her perfectly. They kept walking through the trees until they came upon a ruin. It was made of dark, aged stone and had a flight of stairs leading down between the fallen walls._

_Esther continued on with only a slight nod in Helene's direction and opened the heavy wooden door at the bottom. Helene stared with wide eyes at the dark cellar, closed off with metal bars like in a cage and chains hanging from the stone walls. The older woman stood quietly by as Helene explored the dusty room, trailing her fingers along scratch marks deep in the stone._

_"This belongs to the Lockwood's," Esther continued, gesturing around her. "Though it is long since forgotten, it still holds many secrets from the centuries that have passed." She almost floated across the floor and touched her hand to a brick wall. She turned to Helene for her to move closer and traced her fingers on the mortar between the bricks. Where her finger had been pressed, the bricks detached from each other and split apart like the teeth on a zipper. "My family and I took refuge in these tunnels," she told as she entered a tunnel mouth behind the wall. It was damp and smelled like mold had thrived there for years. "We stayed here on the nights the moon was full and the native peoples ran wild above ground."_

_The tunnel ended in a large cave, lit by a torch burning in a sconce. The walls were covered in drawings and depictions that looked to be older than anyone would be able to remember, telling some sort of story only the writers seemed to understand._

_"Your ancestor and I made many deals, Helene," Esther said, looking around the cave. Her gaze was sad as she read a list of runes carved into the stone. "You must understand that I only wanted to keep them safe. But in my motherly need for protection, I made a huge mistake." Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears when she turned to face Helene, taking her hands in hers. "I have caused the lives of many people, for I did not grasp the consequences of my actions, despite your kin-woman's warnings. She agreed to help me in my quest, and only asked in return that her bloodline would prevail and grow stronger. It pains me to admit that I sacrificed her life for the survival of my own kin. And therefore, you, Helene Sanguis, is caught right in the middle of the net we spun so many centuries ago."_

_"What are you talking about?" Helene asked confused and a little unnerved. None of this sounded good. Esther didn't reply, only took one last look around the cave before placing a kiss to Helene's furrowed brow._

* * *

The Sanguis witch sat up with a gasp, struggling to calm her breathing down as the last tendrils of sleep fled from her mind. Resting her back against the large headboard of the bed, she closed her eyes and ran her hands over her face.

"Bad dream?" a voice asked from the door and Helene looked up to see a strange woman leaning against the door frame. Her dirty blonde hair ran freely, almost down to her waist. Startled, the witch threw her against the wall by the door, knocking down a old painting in the process.

Getting to her feet, she stared at the woman and felt the presence of death in the room. The woman was a vampire. "Who the hell are you?!" she yelled menacingly, at least as menacingly as she could manage after just waking up. It seemed to be enough, fortunately, and the strange vampire blinked in surprise.

"I'm Lexi," the woman answered calmly, with a tinge of irritation, trying to get free of the invisible force pressing her into the wall. "Stefan's friend. He didn't tell me he kept a Sanguis in the house." Seeing Helene's suspicious look, she added, "I saw your tattoo." She went to nod towards the piece of skin that was exposed where her top had ridden up, but found it impossible to move her head. "It's sorta a dead giveaway."

"Lexi..." she repeated the name, finding it kind of familiar. Stefan had mentioned her before. "His best friend, who only shows up on his... birthday." At that realization, she let her go from her grasp and sat down on the bed again. "Dammit," she cursed as Lexi sat down next to her. "I had no idea."

"I'm sure he didn't want you to," she answered. "He's not a birthday person."

"Still..." She sighed and turned to her. "Is he here?"

"No," Lexi shook her head. "He had some things to take care of at the police station."

"Right, the Vicky thing..."

"Meanwhile, I'm stuck inside. But never mind him, let's talk about you. What's it like being a Sanguis witch?" Helene raised a skeptical eyebrow in response. "Right, stupid question."

"No offence," Helene said slowly, "But what were you doing staring at me while I slept? It's kinda creepy. Actually, no. It's very creepy."

"Sorry," the vampire shrugged. "I heard a heartbeat and went to check it out. I thought you might be Elena, until I saw the ink. There's no way he wouldn't have told me if she were Sanguis."

"Did you know Katherine?"

"Unfortunately. Why...?"

"Then you'll recognize Elena the second you see her." Glancing at the clock, Helene decided it best to get going. Her dream was still playing over and over in her head, mapping out which way to go to get to the Lockwood cellar, if it actually existed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lexi asked confused as she watched Helene walk into the bathroom and emerge fully dressed only a minute later.

"You'll see," the witch smiled knowingly before opening the door and walking though. "I have to go."

"Wait!" the vampire called after her. "I didn't even get your name."

"It's Helene," she smiled kindly while buttoning up her jacket. "It was nice meeting you, Lexi."

* * *

Her house seemed so different now, she noticed, when she unlocked the door and entered. Only a few months ago it had been everything she had ever wanted; a new, clean start. Now it felt dark and full of whispered words of anger and pain.

The roll of silver duct tape was lying on the kitchen island, along with the candle she had used to fix Damon's ring. The broken chair the man from the Order had been taped to was gone, together with all other evidence of his existence. She had to admit Damon had done a good job cleaning up after her.

It didn't take long for her to take a much needed shower and jumping into a fresh set of clothes. Her breakfast consisted of leftover pizza and a glass of water. Her whole body was aching to leave again. She left her phone and bag in the kitchen when she left, only bringing her keys and a flashlight.

* * *

It was surprisingly easy finding her way through the large trees and dry underbrush. Pine needles covered the ground in a brown blanket, softening her steps. She came to the place where she had first met Esther in her dream, smiling slightly now that she knew where she was.

Trekking along the path in her mind, she listened to the few birds that were singing near her. The fresh air rejuvenated her spirits to the point where she practically skipped the last part to the cellar.

The opening looked much the same as it had, but the door at the bottom was hard to open. It took a lot of strength and willpower to get it to budge as it's old hinges protested every inch it was moved. Once inside, darkness engulfed her.

The flashlight clicked on with the pressure of her thumb as she stood in the middle of the room. It was chilly and musky, smelling of dirt and old air. Just as she had done in her dream, Helene traced the claw marks on the walls, feeling the indentations and wondering what made them. It had to be some kind of animal, strong enough to rip a person apart.

Finding the brick wall, she followed the track Esther had drawn, concentrating her magic to open it. It "unzipped" and she made her way through the tunnels and to the ancient cave.

Helene turned slowly around, observing every line and picture painted on the stone. Among a set of round symbols, her breathing hitched and her mind went blank. On the wall next to a circle with flowery lines inside it, her Sanguis tattoo was scrawled with white paint. It lacked the black and red of the one adorning her hip, but the three connected circles were unmistakable.

Unable to help herself, too astonished to stop, she reached out and touched her family symbol. A warm light suddenly flashed, bathing the space in a yellow glow. The torch from her dream had ignited. Turning to look at it, still touching the symbol, she came face to face with seven translucent people, standing in a half circle around her.

There were six men and one woman. They were all stunningly beautiful and attractive to look at. Two men stood out to Helene as more solid, where as the others seemed like ghosts you could just walk right through. The man closest to her had shoulder length brown hair that fell in slight waves. His lips were rich and plump, accompanied with high cheekbones and strikingly, deep blue eyes.

The other man was the tallest of the bunch, reaching a few inches higher than the others, with the same shoulder length hair as the other man, only darker in color. His brown stare held Helene captive as she once again struggled to breathe. His stoic face and the eyes she had known for so long made her want to run up and hug him as much as she wanted to hit him.

She moved towards him slowly, still not sure of what to do when she reached him, only knowing she had to. She didn't get the opportunity to do either, for when she removed her fingers from the symbol on the wall, they all dissipated into nothing and the torch went out. She had to keep herself from screaming in frustration.

* * *

"Are you sure we should be here?" Bonnie Bennett asked nervously as Helene led her down through the cellar and into the tunnels, leading the way with her flashlight. Helene had hurried home after her discovery and told Bonnie to meet her as soon as possible; she had found the perfect place to practice their magic. The Bennett-witch had been reluctant, and still was, as they walked deeper underground, but Helene had managed to persuade her to at least come and take a look. "It doesn't look safe..."

"Of course it's safe," Helene answered confidently as they entered the cave, placing down the large bag she had brought. "The witch in my dream showed me here. Do you question the lady in **your** dreams?"

Bonnie gasped, "How do you know about that?"

"What are you talking about?" she turned to shine the light in her friend's eyes in confusion. "I was just joking." The playfulness had gone out of her voice and she sounded utterly serious when she asked, "What lady in your dreams, Bonnie?"

"Grams says she's my ancestor," Bonnie said while Helene crouched down next to her bag and pulled out several candles and lit them with her mind, putting her flashlight away. She kept her eyes on Bonnie the whole time. "Emily Bennett. She keeps telling me 'It's coming'. Apparently, this medallion belonged to her." She pulled the item around her neck out of her shirt and showed it to Helene.

"Wait," she frowned as she inspected the piece of jewelry. "That's the necklace Damon gave to Caroline, isn't it?"

"Yeah. But when he tried to take it back, it burned him."

Helene nodded in understanding before gesturing for the medallion. "May I?"

"Go ahead."

Reaching out to touch the amber crystal, a vision flashed in her mind's eye and she saw Emily Bennett standing in front of her where Bonnie previously was. The talisman hung around her neck and she placed both her hands over Helene's, which were holding onto the crystal. Her lips moved, but no words came out. She seemed to repeat the same phrase again and again, but silence was all that sounded.

Releasing the necklace, Helene gasped for breath and backed away until she rested her back and head against the cool cave wall. A headache was starting to form and she massaged her temples with a pout.

"Are you ok?" Bonnie fussed and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Did it hurt you?"

"No. No," she shook her head and took a deep breath. "I've just been... I've seen a lot of... I'm just tired," she settled for. After another deep inhalation, she stood up straight and produced a small decoration pillow from her bag. Ripping it open harshly, absolutely enjoying the feeling of destroying it, Helene spilled the feathers out on the dirty ground. "You're gonna levitate these," she told her friend matter-of-factly.

"I am?" she asked nervously, staring down at the pillow's exposed guts. She didn't look at all convinced.

"Yes, you are," Helene nodded. "You have finally admitted to yourself that you're a witch, and a witch needs to learn how to control her powers. If we don't do this, we'll end up having another incident like the one at the Sexy Suds carwash."

"But I don't..." Bonnie stuttered nervously before cutting herself off when she met the Sanguis' gaze. It was obvious she wasn't getting out of this one.

The two witches sat down across from each other inside the circle of burning candles that provided light, with the pile of white feathers lying in between them, moving every now and again when a breath of air whispered through the tunnels and into the cave.

According to Helene, it was all about finding the corner in her brain that the magic resided in, and draw it forward. She lifted the feathers all the way to the cave's ceiling without so much as the bat of an eyelash. Bonnie struggled from the first second. "Again," Helene would demand once she had actually been able to lift one off the ground, only to have it slowly sink back down. After about fifty commands for doing it again and again, the atmosphere was starting to become agitated. Helene was quickly losing her patience and Bonnie felt like sleeping for a whole week.

"Getting angry at me doesn't help!" Bonnie finally snapped. "I'm not as powerful as you! I couldn't do this since birth; I can hardly do it now!"

"I know," Helene sighed and ran a hand across her face. "I'm sorry. I just thought... I figured you'd be able to do this quickly. But it's fine, you're doing great. Let's just calm down and try again."

She nodded slowly and focused on one particular white feather, raising her hand like Helene had suggested earlier, to channel her powers better, and closing her eyes. She didn't open them again until she heard the blonde squealing a little. They both laughed as the feather soared above their heads and moved at Bonnie's command. Hugging, they finally noticed how hungry they were and looked at the time.

"It's almost five," Bonnie exclaimed in astonishment. It had been around noon that they had arrived in the cave. "Caroline's party starts at six. We need to get ready."

Helene agreed and gathered up her bag while her friend blew out the candles that were almost burned down to the ground. They left them there for another time, along with the pile of feathers.

* * *

Sitting at a booth with Bonnie at the Grill, Helene could still feel the aching of her head. She had agreed to come, only for an excuse to avoid going home. She wasn't sure she would be able to stay there, especially in the mood she could feel coming on. She was having trouble getting the vision of the two men in the cave out of her head, too. Just thinking about the tall man made her want to punch something – preferably him. Or anything that would smash into a million broken pieces. She looked at the empty glass that had previously contained Cola in front of her, contemplating whether or not to break it, but decided against it.

She was talking with Bonnie, who was still ecstatic about being able to lift a feather, when Caroline came bouncing over with a smile on her face.

"Bonnie, Helene!" she squealed in way of greeting before pulling Bonnie out of the booth and to her feet. "I've been looking for you. I'm totally sorry to do this, I know it's so Indian giver – and I know that we're not supposed to say that anymore – but, I need my crystal back." She pointed at the talisman and Bonnie sent a cautious look Helene's way before replying.

"Why? You said you hated it."

Caroline's mouth opened and shut a few times, trying to find the right thing to say. "... Then I saw it on you, and I realized how great it is. And, I've got like three outfits I can coordinate it with, so."

"I can't give it back to you," her friend shook her head.

The blonde's smile faltered and her whole friendly demeanor fell. "Okay... uh, well, I didn't want to have to tell you this, but I'm your friend; when you wear it, it makes you look fat. There, I said it, but it's because I'm your friend." When Bonnie told her she couldn't give it back, Caroline got upset. "What do you mean you can't? It's **mine**."

"Didn't you say it was Damon's?" Helene asked from her seat at the booth, convinced he had a finger in this argument.

"Well, it is-" she answered with a slight glare before she was cut off.

"So he's the one who really wants it back?" Bonnie asked.

"No... maybe... just," she reached out to grab the necklace, pulling quickly back when it electrocuted her fingers. "Ow! Are you wearing polyester?"

"You were really gonna pull it from my neck?" she said in disbelief, hurt evident in her eyes and voice. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

She walked away, leaving Caroline to sigh and look out over the crowd, which consisted of most of the town, before leaving. Helene sighed as well as she sat by herself, resting her head in her hands. It wasn't long after Caroline had left that she returned to slide into the booth opposite of the witch, tears in her eyes.

"I can't believe Bonnie," she whined and took a sip from a glass that obviously contained some kind of alcohol. "Why can't she just give it back to me?! But nooo, she gets what she wants – something that doesn't even belong to her, by the way – and I get called a shallow, useless waste of space."

"Damon," Helene half growled in irritation. It didn't surprise her to be right. "You can't put up with him treating you like that anymore, Care. He left without saying a word. You're too good for him, just stop trying to please him."

"I've tried," she cried desperately, draining her glass. Helene was just about to say something, when she stood back up. "I need another drink." Then she was gone again.

Clasping her hands around her head in annoyance and a lame attempt at getting rid of the headache that had now grown to pound against her cranium, she tried to take several deep breaths. When a glass of liquid gold was slid in between her arms and into view from the other side of the table, she smiled brightly and said, "My hero!" The smile fell when she saw Damon sitting in front of her. "Never mind..." She took a long drag from the whiskey and moaned as it traveled down her throat.

"How late is he?" Damon asked with a smirk she tried to ignore. When he received her confused look, he gestured around the party. "I don't see Tyler anywhere, and you're sitting here all by yourself."

Only then remembering her boyfriend was supposed to be here, she looked at the time on her phone. An "oh..." escaped her lips. "He should've been here thirty minutes ago..." A knot formed in her stomach when she realized how bad it was to not notice him missing. She took another drag from the glass, emptying it and reaching over to snatch Damon's full glass out of his hands just as he was about to drink. He glared at her, and opened his mouth to speak. Helene slapped him hard across the face, earning several curious looks from the people around.

"What the hell was that for?!" Damon yelled back, glaring at anyone who dared meet his eyes. Helene was the only one who didn't look away, keeping his stare as she drank from his glass of whiskey.

"For what you did to Caroline," she replied icily. "Why do you want that crystal so badly, anyway? Why is it important to you?" She knew why it was important to Bonnie and the Bennett family, but she had no clue why he wanted it, and it bothered her beyond words.

"It just is," he said. "Why are you in such a bad mood?"

"I just am," she answered just as clipped as he had been. Looking around the room for anything to distract her from Damon's presence, she saw Stefan and Lexi playing pool a little ways away. He actually seemed to be having fun. She smiled at the scene.

Damon followed her line of sight. "Stefan smiles. Alert the media."

"I'm just glad he's able to forget how horrible his older brother is for a few minutes."

"Speaking of horrible older siblings," he leant his arms on the table. "Has Nina always been so bitchy, or is it a family trait?"

"It does run in the family, actually," Helene laughed despite herself. "Though it only comes out when we're around people we don't like." She paused pointedly, catching the slight eye roll he made, still smirking at her. "But Nina used to be... bearable. We've never gotten along, but it wasn't this bad..."

Intrigued, Damon raised an inquisitive eyebrow, egging her on. If it had been any other day, she would've kept her mouth shut. She **should** be keeping her mouth shut, but it kept her mind away from the ache in her head.

"She was always wild and hated following rules," she continued, a memory of Nina in earlier years floating past her eyes. "She had this... I guess you could call it a passion, for following her own mind. Never mind that each time she did so, she would end up in trouble." She scoffed fondly when remembering going with **E** to pick her up from the police station one time. "When Mom got sick..." she struggled to find the right words, having never contemplated her sister's actions before now, just accepting them as who she was. Damon noticed how her eyes sort of glazed over as she spoke, obviously reliving old memories. "... things with Nina escalated. I don't think she knew how to handle the thought that Mom was going to die, especially since she still remembered losing Dad so well. I was six when he died, but I didn't understand it. All I knew was that my father wasn't coming home. So when Mom was diagnosed with cancer they couldn't treat, she rebelled. Left me and **E** to look out for both her and Mom. I didn't blame her, though, even when **E** did. My fifteen year old mind revolved solely around my mother and what I could do to make her feel better." Sighing tiredly, Helene rubbed her forehead. "The drugs started right after Mom's funeral. I think she got high in the bathroom before we left our house. Everything just sort of snowballed from there, and then she turned and... well, she became what she is now."

"That doesn't explain why she's trying to kill you," Damon said shrewdly.

"No," she admitted with another great sigh. "That came after... when I stole her boyfriend."

"You what?" he laughed in disbelief, a genuine, surprised smile passing over his lips before gaining control over his expression again.

"It's not like I **meant** to," Helene defended with an edge to her voice. "It just happened. And for the record," she added with an upheld finger. "He started it."

"No wonder she hates you."

She glared at him coolly, her lips curled in a half snarl. "Why am I even talking to you?" Crossing her arms dismissingly across her chest, she leant back in her seat and looked away, trying to find anything to keep her mind busy. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed him smiling.

_Please don't smile like that._

"What?" she asked, trying hard to ignore how dazzling he looked when he was actually smiling with humor instead of malice.

"Lexi just asked Stefan why I'm not trying to eat you," he explained, nodding discreetly to where the two stood together by the bar. Helene caught Lexi glancing at her and waved slightly.

"You do know it's rude to eavesdrop, don't you?" she asked Damon playfully, full of well humored scorn. She gave her own smirk as she asked, "Why **aren't** you eating me?"

"You're too pretty for a snack."

"No, I'm not," she shot down quickly, her smirk turning into a grin. "Give me the reason."

"Because I enjoyed watching you dance last night?" he tried, knowing she wouldn't like it.

"I'm sure you did, and I swear to God; if you ever tell anyone about that, I will end you."

"Would you do it in that delightful Tinkerbell costume?"

Rolling her eyes, Helene leant over the table towards him. "What is it about me, Damon Salvatore, that makes you not want to eat me?"

She searched his eyes mockingly. Her intent gaze almost made him nervous she'd find something he didn't want her to. Something he didn't even want to admit himself. Then she threw her head back, laughing, shaking her head while she smiled.

_That's why._

The thought scurried across his mind like a mice across a kitchen floor, too fast for him to catch it and keep it from surfacing.

"I'm gonna try flirting a drink out of the bartender," Helene announced after a few seconds of watching Damon gazing at the empty table top, a strange look in his eyes. Shaking her head in confusion, she got up from the booth and made her way over to the bar, smiling at the people she knew as she passed.

It didn't take a lot of work, getting a drink too strong for her age – according to state law. Before being able to return to her seat, however, she got ambushed by a group of girls from school, asking about her life like they knew each other since they were in diapers. After dodging every question tactfully – and a fair share of lies – she was able to get away from them. She started walking back to the now empty booth when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket.

**_- Get home, now! – _**the text from her sister said, stirring up unease in the youngest Smith.

**_- Why? What's wrong? – _**she sent back, only to get another vague reply for her to hurry. Feeling like this could be urgent, thoughts of the Order assailing her mind, she headed for the exit, only to be stopped by two police officers blocking the door.

"You can't go through here, Miss," one of them said, holding a hand up to keep her back.

"I need to get home," she replied, sudden anger flaring. The headache wasn't stopping and seemed to make her short temper even shorter. She need to see her sister. She tried several times to coax them into letting her pass, only to be shoved lightly on the shoulder when they had had enough of her incessant nagging.

* * *

Five minutes later, she was dragged outside, hands restrained in handcuffs behind her back, herded by the officer that had touched her shoulder. His nose was bleeding profusely, looking far too crooked to be normal.

They arrive just in time to witness Damon driving a stake through Lexi's heart, whispering something to her before twisting the piece of wood in further, effectively killing her. She fell to the ground limply.

Sheriff Forbes and Damon speak quickly while the officer holding Helene still appeared paralyzed behind her. "Lexi," Helene yelled loudly, knowing full well that she's long gone and not coming back. But she can't help it as it tears through her throat and she rips loose from the officer's grip, running up to the grey corpse on the ground, her face a stoic mask.

"Helene?" the Sheriff asked horrified, sending a stern look to her subordinate as he runs over to apprehend the teenager again. "What are you... Why are you in cuffs?"

"My sister texted," she answered evenly, ignoring Damon's presence and looking right past him to Liz. "I need to get home." She nodded towards her captor. "He was in my way." She sounded so casual that Liz started, blinking in surprise.

"So you punched an officer?" she almost yelled in outrage. Damon kept trying to make eye contact with the witch, probably to gauge her emotional reaction to his actions, but she steadfastly refused to acknowledge him. It was like he was invisible and it grated on his nerves to the point where he almost grabbed a hold of her to force her to look at him.

"I think I broke his nose," Helene shrugged.

"Helene!" Nina's voice called as she came running up to the group. After a quick glance down at Lexi's body, completely unaffected, she extended her hand to the Sheriff, frowning at Helene before meeting Liz's eyes. "Sheriff Forbes, nice to finally meet you. I'm Nina Sanguis, Helene's sister."

"Sanguis?" Liz asked, looking to Helene for an explanation. The three officers who were standing around, including the bleeding one who had encountered Helene's right hook, were the only ones who seemed to care about the vampire on the ground. "I thought you said your name was Smith."

Before she could answer, cussing out her sister in her head, Nina replied for her. "It is," she insisted. "Our family changed it a long time ago, to prevent anyone from coming after us, thinking we were witches."

The Sheriff looked between the two sisters, then at Lexi, then at the sisters again. She found it odd how nonchalant they were about it all. That they were Sanguis, could possibly explain it. "Since you're Sanguis, I'm guessing you know about this?" She gestured for the dead body that had previously been Lexi.

"About vampires and all that stuff?" Nina asked and Liz nodded. "Sure, we know." She looked over to see Damon bristle just at her being there. She almost found it adorable, knowing it was for Helene's sake he was getting antsy. It didn't escape her notice that he kept eyeing her sister, which was like trying to make contact with a brick wall. Once Helene decided to ignore you, you were nothing but air in her eyes. Turning her attention back to the Sheriff, she said, "It's been really nice chatting with you, Sheriff, but my sister and I have a flight to catch."

"We do?" Helene frowned. "Where are we going?"

Her only reply was, "What date is it tomorrow?" The blonde was confused at first, then cursed as the horrible realization hit. Again, Nina spoke to Liz. "Since it's her first time, can't you just let her off with a stern warning? She won't do it again."

The Sheriff thought it over for a few seconds, casting glances at Damon and her officers before settling on Helene. "Fine." When she nodded, the bloodied officer opened the handcuffs and Helene rubbed her wrists.

"Helene, apologize to the nice officer who was just doing his job," her sister admonished, loving the way her kid sister's lips curled in disgust and embarrassment directed her way. She winked in response and turned her to face the man, holding her by the shoulders to keep her from bailing.

"I'm sorry you were in my way," she told him resolutely, shrugging Nina's hands off and walking away. Damon tried going after her for some reason she couldn't fathom.

Just as he was about to reach for her arm, a force tugged him backwards, only to discover that Nina had grabbed a hold of his jacket collar and yanked him away. "Stay away from my sister," she whispered menacingly into his ear, letting go to follow after Helene, the plane tickets to Wisconsin tucked securely into her pocket.

* * *

**I hope you liked it and I would appreciate your reviews :) I'm pretty much convinced you all understand that it's Esther Mikaelson in Helene's dream at the beginning, and that it's the Original family she sees in her vision. Who do you think she sees as more solid, and why is her family's symbol in the Original cave?**


	10. Chapter 10 Part 1

**Chapter 10 Part 1**

* * *

The wrought iron gate creaked in protest as Nina opened it to enter the dark cemetery, the moon hanging high in the sky, casting light on the granite and golden lettering of the headstones planted in the earth.

It had rained during the day, resulting in mud being splattered on their shoes as they walked silently among the graves of hundreds of people. Behind them, the city of Madison pulsated with the nightlife, the sounds dimmed by the distance.

They had waited all day to go here, Helene almost going insane while waiting for the sun to set so her sister could come too. She had asked seventeen times if she could go alone, ready to get it over with quickly and return home. But Nina had been adamant. "You promised," she would answer each time she repeated her question, and each time Helene sighed in annoyance and stared at the small TV-screen the motel room provided.

And it was true; she had promised. But that was years ago and before Nina turned. She had never agreed to fly to Wisconsin late at night, sleep in a dusty motel room and wait there for hours on end. She had agreed to visit their graves once a year, on their wedding anniversary, together with Nina. No exceptions.

Helene's foot found a particularly deep puddle of water and cursed as she felt it go through her shoe and be absorbed by her sock. "Tell me again why we couldn't bring flashlights. I can hardly see anything."

Nina glanced at her over her shoulder and kept walking, leading them further on. "I can see fine," she answered smugly, sidestepping a puddle. "The flashlights would've brought attention."

"Whose attention?" Helene jumped over the puddle that reflected the moonlight. "There's no one here. Look around you, it's one o'clock in the morning. Only crazies are in a cemetery at this hour."

"Suck it up, sis," Nina replied, speeding up her pace as she saw the headstone she knew so well. "Did you bring the candle?"

"Of course I brought it," was the irritated reply. She saw Nina stop a few feet before her and crouch down, touching her hand to the glittering stone. As she moved closer, coming up to stand beside her sister, Helene saw the bouquet of lilies resting against the grave.

_That bastard._

Feeling her anger bubble up inside, Helene snatched the flowers off the ground, lit them on fire and threw them away. They hit an angle statue and sizzled out when it hit the wet ground.

"Was that really necessary?" Even though Helene couldn't see it, she was sure Nina had one of her eyebrows raised.

"He has no right coming here," she answered harshly, pulling the red tinted grave candle out and placing it down by the stone. Running a quick hand over the top of the headstone to remove the damp leaves that had formed on it, she smiled sadly as she read the names.

Richard and Kate Smith;  
"_Sadly missed along life's way,  
Quietly remembered every day,  
No longer in our life to share,  
But in our hearts they're always there."_

"He was their friend," Nina continued to argue, knowing it wouldn't matter what she said. Helene had hated E for leaving them after their mother died. Nina hadn't been quite so judgmental, if more heartbroken than her baby sister.

Helene only snorted in response. He had promised time and time again that he would stay, take care of them. He had always been around, ever since they both were little, and then he just up and left. No trace, no note, no call. It had been three years and it still stung her heart. The men in the cave flashed before her eyes and she shook her head to get rid of them, refusing to let the anger get the better of her.

Instead, she focused on the headstone and the memory of her parents. She could almost see them standing hand in hand, big smiles on their faces, looking as they always did in her mind; young and beautiful and happy. She never let the memories of the sickness taint the picture of her mother.

"Can we go now?" Helene asked after several minutes of silence.

"No. We just got here." Nina glared at her in the dark, but it didn't have much effect. Then she caressed the cold stone. "What do you think they'd say to us right now?"

Helene blinked in surprise at her sister's vulnerable tone. It was like they were back before Nina's transformation and sitting in their brand new apartment, two states under where they had buried their last remaining family only days before. "I don't know." She cleared her throat when her voice broke. Tears were stinging in her eyes. "They would probably yell at us for being up so late." The sad chuckle Nina gave made her smile softly. "Then they'd yell at us some more because you turned and I let you. When mom was out of breath, dad would take over. I think we're better off not knowing."

"I think you're right," Nina nodded, wiping away a tear. "They would really tear us a new one." She paused, looking up at her little sister who was standing over her. "They never would've recognized you."

Helene shot her eyes down on her with an insulted look. "What's that supposed to mean?" She crossed her arms across her chest.

"You know exactly what I mean." Nina stood up and mimicked her stance, staring directly into her eyes. "You're not the same person who they knew, who mom knew towards the end. You used to be so sweet and caring. You cared more about others and their well-being than you ever did about yourself. You'd rather be in pain than watch someone else suffer, even complete strangers. Where is that girl now, huh? Where's the girl who cried when she saw someone else crying, who gave away her favorite Barbie doll to the girl who bullied her when hers broke?"

"She's as dead as they are!" Helene screamed with a lump in her throat, gesturing wildly towards the headstone. "She was killed by the impact of reality, by its cruelty! She died inside when her father did, when her mother passed away! Each time you got hurt or ran off, leaving her alone to watch our mother die slowly and painfully! When E left and didn't come back!" Her voice broke once more as she wasn't able to hold her tears back. Turning around when a sob wracked her body, she started walking away, back the way they came.

Nina stared after her for a few surprised seconds. She could count on one hand the number of times Helene had cried in front of her or lost control of her emotions. Glancing back down at her parents' resting place, she nodded in silent goodbye and headed after her sister, feeling her stomach churn with regret. Maybe dragging her here hadn't been such a good idea after all.

* * *

Helene went to bed as soon as they returned to the motel, not saying a single word on the car ride back. The beds were hard and the pillow smelled less than clean, but she almost fell asleep in protest. It was bad enough losing control. Having Nina glance at her every two second with pity in her eyes had been worse.

She woke up the next morning with an ache in her back and the sun burning her irises as soon as she opened her eyes. The curtains were securely closed for Nina's sake, but the rays of light still shone through with too much intensity this early in the morning.

Turning over, her eyes spreading wide when she heard several cracks erupt from her spine as she did so, she found Nina sitting cross-legged on her own bed, dark hair spilling like a curtain over her face while she leaned her head on her hand, completely lost to the words in their mother's journal.  
Helene had brought it for her to read through. The day before, while they waited on the day to end, Nina had yelled and cursed at her for not telling her sooner. The blonde had apologized, but Nina hadn't touched it before they went to the cemetery.

Now, however, she seemed too engrossed in it to even notice Helene waking up and passing by her to take a shower. When she exited the steam filled room, her sister had changed position on the bed and now lay flat on her stomach with the book tightly gripped in her fingers. Helene chose to ignore the quiet sniffle she heard as she got dressed. If she dared mention it, it would lead to more trouble.

Eventually, the oldest Sanguis finished reading the story of Kate Smith's life and greeted her baby sister.

"You okay?" Helene found herself asking softly, only casting a quick glance up from where she was texting with Elena. Nina was visibly upset as she closed the journal and ran a hand through her hair.

"Fine," she replied, clearing her throat when it cracked. "I just never knew she..."

"Forgave you?" When Nina nodded, Helene smiled sadly. "We all did. You just never gave us a chance to tell you."

Both sister's avoided eye contact after that, Nina watching TV and Helene chatting amiably with her friends in Mystic Falls. Apparently, they'd gotten a new history teacher.

As the day passed on, Helene felt herself getting restless and momentarily forgot about her sister. Getting up from the bed, struggling slightly to untangle from the sheets, she drew the curtains wide open, letting the sun warm her skin for the second it took for Nina to scream in horror and run full speed to a darkened corner.

"What the hell, sis?!" she screeched in anger, pressing to get as close to the walls as she could. "Are you trying to kill me?!"

Laughing to herself, Helene drew the curtains closed again, leaving only a small opening for the sun to shine in, effectively separating the two sisters on either side of the room. "It must really suck to not be able to enjoy the sun anymore. I seem to remember you as quite the beach bunny."

"Close them," Nina hissed angrily, pointing at them with a shaking finger.

Crossing her arms over her chest, the blonde couldn't pass up such a perfect opportunity to mess with her sister. She had tried to kill her, after all. "Close them yourself if you hate it so much."

"You know I can't. I swear to God, Helene..."

"You swear what?" The cocked eyebrow only egged Nina on further. "What can you do to me from all the way over there?" Helene placed her hand on the doorknob to leave. "I'm going out. Need me to bring you a child to suck the life out of? Or maybe you would prefer a man; brown hair, green eyes. Named Simon?"

She immediately knew it was a bad idea to bring him up and taunt her with him. She knew the moment Nina snarled, her eyes red, fangs exposed. She wasn't able to understand anything before she felt herself slammed against asphalt, gravel scraping her right shoulder and her sister's weight on top of her.

Blinking the sun out of her eyes, Helene saw she was lying on her back in the parking lot of the motel, Nina straddling her hips and holding her arms pinned to the ground. She had to squint to be able to see her sister's face from where it blocked the sun in the sky.

_Wait... sun?_

The older Sanguis seemed to notice that same error when she did, her face returning to normal and looking down at her in confusion.  
Almost in a daze, Nina stood up and inspected her bare arms and hands. She should be burning up, sizzling and bubbling under the sun like any other vampire. She glanced at Helene who had also gotten up and was staring at her.

"Shouldn't you be-"

"Yes," Nina answered before she could finish the question. All she felt was warm. Not boiling or scorching or even hot.

"Then why aren't you-"

"I don't know!"

The Sanguis sisters locked eyes, all anger replaced by confusion and amazement.

"So, hold on..." Helene raised a hand to stop anything from happening as she tried to process the scene before her. "So, you've never tried to expose yourself to sunlight before?"

"Why would I?" Nina practically yelled, freaking out. She just couldn't wrap her mind around this. "I- I don't understand. How am I not burning up? How am I not a pile of ash on the ground right now?"

"I don't know..." She pulled a hand through her hair, the wheels cranking at full speed in her mind. "Maybe it has something to do with our family. I mean, you're way stronger than any other vampire your age – stronger than Stefan or Damon. Maybe this is another one of those things... Oh, I don't know!" She threw her hands up in defeat, only then noticing the sting in her shoulder. The gravel had scraped away small, thin tendrils of skin and blood was slowly starting to slip out.

"I... I think we should head home..." Nina said weakly after a long pause, where only the sound of the breeze blowing and the traffic was heard. "There's no point in waiting here all day if I can..." She stopped to find the right words. "Walk in the sun." She looked to Helene for an answer, but found her eyes drawn to the blood instead.

"Yeah, you're right," Helene nodded, covering her shoulder with her hand. "I just have to clean this up first." As she headed back into the room, their door hanging dangerously on just one hinge, she turned to Nina. "Why don't you enjoy a few minutes in the sun. It's been a long time."

Nina felt a lump form in her throat at the offer, cursed her heightened emotions, and spread her arms out wide, basking in the rays of light she had been avoiding for so long.

* * *

For once since the night before Halloween, the house felt welcoming. But when Helene stepped up to the door, her sister at her heels, a manila folder was waiting for them on the doormat. They exchanged looks.

Nina was the first to stoop down and grab it, reading the small note scribbled in sloping cursive. "_'I thought you should see this._'" Then she stopped and slapped a hand over her mouth. "Helene," she breathed in astonishment. "It's from E."

"What?" She practically ripped it out of her hands to read it herself. She had to make an effort not to rip it all apart right then and there. He had some nerve; first the grave and now this.

Opening the door with excessive force, Helene left Nina standing on the doormat while she brought the file into the kitchen and slammed it down on the island. The lights around her flickered on by themselves and she flicked the file open, trying to keep her focus.

At first glance, the contents were generic, boring reports, newspaper clippings and photos of five random people.  
But as Helene took the time to read the words, her mind went into hyper drive, reading every line, every word, noticing every black character on the papers.

The boring reports, were in fact reports, but not at all boring. They were police reports, describing five different murder cases with certain things in common, connecting them to one specific killer.

There were three women and two men of various age and social status, all killed in Lancing, Michigan during one week in March of 1997; puncture wounds on their necks and drained of blood. The officers on the case all seemed to agree they were ritual killings, some sort of twisted cult who had seen one too many vampire films. Helene almost laughed. How innocent a notion.

_If they only knew..._

The newspaper clippings were also about the murders, explaining the circumstances to the public and asking them to be careful.  
Her eyes stopped on the last newspaper clipping, clutching it hard between her thumb and index finger like it was trying to get away.

It was an article about a body washing up on the shore of a river, and even though he had the same neck wounds as the other five victims, he had been alive when he fell into the water and drowned when the blood loss had made him weak.

The victim's name, was Richard Smith.

Blinking rapidly to escape her trance, Helene scrambled for the next sheaf of paper; her father's coroner's report. It affirmed what the news article said — with all the gory details— and connected him to the string of murders.

The second-to-last page in the folder was a woman's description of how she had been attacked on her way home from a party by a man, bitten in the neck and tossed aside in an alley. Somehow, she had survived and managed to get to a hospital in time. With the help of a police sketch artist, they had been able to draw the attacker's face.

Looking at the sketch, the last piece of paper left, a familiar face stared back at her.

The dark, slightly tussled hair, the high cheekbones and the eyes that pierced her even in black and white; there was no mistaking him. The only thing that was missing was the smug smirk.

* * *

**Hey, guys. I know this is a really short chapter but I just felt so bad for not posting in such a long time and decided to post the first half of the original Chapter 10, and call it Part 1. I hope you all forgive me O:-)**


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